Lovely Ladies
by electrons
Summary: A vengeance demon decides to punish Wesley for the events of 'Billy'. When an old acquaintance of AI's shows up she gets the chance to do just that. Now AI has to team up with an unlikely ally to save Wesley from an even more unlikely threat. As the vengeance demon makes Wesley's greatest fear a reality AI must save him before they too become doomed by his curse. Hiatus until June.
1. Anywhere But Here

"Is Wesley here yet?"

Angel looked up from his book to take in Fred's nervous yet eager face. "No,"

Cordelia was behind the counter flipping through a magazine while Angel was on the couch reading and Gunn was examining something in the weapon's cabinet. Cordelia didn't bother to look up from her reading material to address Fred. "He's still moping."

"He said he would come in today." Fred protested

Gunn looked over at them. "When did he say that?"

"I went to see him last night. He looked…"

Both Angel and Gunn were now focusing on Fred. "Yes," Angel prompted

"He looked bad." She said "He was… When I left I heard him crying."

Now Cordelia was also paying attention. "He was _crying_?"

"Maybe we should check on him." Gunn said

"Guys I think Wesley wants to be alone." Angel said "He's working through stuff."

"Yeah, like how you worked through Darla by turning into a total psycho." Cordy said

Angel scowled. "Look, having your free will subverted by a murderous misogynistic demon that wants to tear apart one of your friends isn't a fun experience. He just needs some time alone to work through what he's feeling. The last thing Wesley needs is us pestering him."

"Of course that's what you say. Your solution to every problem is brooding. We already have one annoyingly morose person working here, we don't need two. The last thing I want to deal with is British boy's newfound guilt complex. So we need to go over there and tell him-"

"Cordy," Fred said

"Don't interrupt me Fred." Cordelia didn't take her eyes off Angel. "We need to tell him to stop sulking because we have a job to do. He has responsibilities and one of them is not cry-"

"Hey Wesley!" Fred said in a voice that tried to be cheerful but just came off forced

Cordelia looked toward the door and then turned bright red. Wesley was standing there with a humiliated look on his face, trying to pretend he hadn't heard her. "Hey Fred,"

Wesley's whisper was so full of pain Cordelia winced. "Wesley I-"

He spoke as though he hadn't heard her. "Sorry I haven't been in for a while, do we have any new cases?" He was trying to pretend all was normal when it clearly was not.

"Everything's pretty quiet." Angel said

"I'll be in my office." Wesley disappeared into the back room while everyone else shared awkward glances. Cordelia shifted uncomfortably under the accusing gazes of Fred and Gunn.

"Nice Cordy," Gunn said "Could you have been a little more callous?"

"Shut up," Cordy mumbled

"I'll go talk to him." Fred said

"No." Cordy's voice was firm and a little too loud. "I will."

"You sure?" Angel said "Maybe that's not the best-"

"I'll do it right now." Cordelia walked up to Wesley's door and knocked. When she got no answer she just entered anyway. Wesley appeared to be engrossed in a book. "Wesley,"

"Can it wait Cordelia? I'm sulking." Wesley said in a dry voice

Cordy shut the door and walked over to the desk. "You weren't supposed to hear that."

"I'm so glad you usually restrict your character assassinations to when I'm absent."

"I wasn't finished." She said "You weren't supposed to hear that, but it's true. You can't fall into the guilt thing. We need you Wesley, we count on you. What happened with Billy-"

"Cordelia," Wesley's voice was sharp as it cut her off. "Please stop."

"I just-"

He looked up from his book. She could still see the bruise on his eye and the marks where Fred had used nails to fight him off. "You just want to come in here and talk to me so that you won't feel as bad about what you said. I'm sorry, but I don't have the patience right now to suffer through your intelligible ramblings. I have more important things to do."

Cordy's jaw dropped. "What has gotten into you?"

"Lately? How far back do you want me to go?"

Cordelia opened her mouth to really lay into him and then stopped. "Nice try, but I know all of Angel's tricks and that's a classic. You think you can piss me off and I'll leave you alone."

"You'll do whatever you want to do, as always, because you have no regard for the feelings of anyone but yourself. You want to talk to me, so we're going to talk, even though I don't want to and it isn't going to make me feel better. You're a selfish spoiled little girl and I don't have to sit here and be bothered by you." Wesley slammed his book shut, picked it up, and then walked past Cordelia into and through the lobby to the outside. The other members of Angel Investigations watched him go with stunned looks on their faces.

For a while they couldn't speak. Cordelia had an uneasy feeling. "Do you think some of Billy's blood might still be… you know, affecting him? That wasn't very Wes-like."

"There's no way." Gunn said "That stuff wore off after Billy died."

"This might have upset Wes more than we realized." Angel said

"What do we do?" Fred asked "Should we go after him?"

Angel looked at the bright sunshine outside and was about to respond that he couldn't really do that when he saw a figure approach. A young woman, brunette, very familiar. "Faith,"

"What?" Cordy followed his gaze.

The woman entered the lobby. It was indeed Faith the vampire slayer. "Hey Angel,"

…

Wesley sat on his couch hunched over with his head in his hands. He tried to block out the images that filled his mind, but they just kept coming. Shouting men, frightened women, bloody children… Wesley shook his head. That had all been a long time ago. It didn't matter anymore because he was a different person. But it seemed that history was determined to repeat itself because the horrible sins of his father now weighed heavy on the shoulders of the son not just because of the Billy incident, but today as well. He knew that Cordelia had been trying to help, that she was concerned for him. Her expression of that concern may have been flawed, but she meant no harm. Why had he been so angry? "You have a troubled soul." A voice said

Wesley looked up. A woman with raven black hair cut into a bob and eyes that sparkled like emeralds stood in front of him. He was about to ask how she had gotten in when he saw the pendant around her neck. "You're a vengeance demon." He spoke with no inflection.

She was not surprised by this knowledge. "You aren't afraid?"

He shrugged. "If I don't say the W word you're powerless. Unless you're here because of a wish someone else made, in which case I probably deserve it. So no, I'm not afraid."

"There is longing in you." She said "Longing for otherness, correct?"

Wesley nodded. "You're perceptive, that would come with the job I suppose."

"You wish things were other than they are, that you could change them."

"If I were to make a wish, you would only pervert it. There is nothing that I could gain from making a wish. I would only invite trouble. You're wasting your time with me."

"Perhaps, but I think you might desire a bit of trouble."

"You think so?"

"I think you want to be punished, you said as much moments ago."

He had, hadn't he? "If I did want to punish myself, I wouldn't use the unreliable method of vengeance demons. You would use my wish to cause trouble for others, not just me."

"But you're so clever, couldn't you think of a fool-proof wish? It is possible. I know how you value your own intellect. Don't you want to show off? Come dear, it's a fun game."

Wesley stood up. "I'll be leaving now. You should as well."

…

"Look at this." Cordelia said "If it isn't the psycho slayer herself."

"Cordy," Angel was calm, but inside he was confused. What was going on?

"Don't 'Cordy' me Angel, the last time Faith was here wasn't exactly fun, not for us."

"Not for me either." Faith said "And-"

"I'm sorry," Cordelia said "Did I give you permission to talk?"

Gunn and Fred exchanged puzzled looks. "Who's-" Fred began

"This is Faith, she's a vampire slayer." Angel explained

"I thought you said there was only one and Bu-"

"Don't say the B-word." Cordelia said "We don't say the B-word."

Faith gave Angel a confused look. "You don't?"

"Well Cordy doesn't, so we don't either."

"Wow, you're whipped." Faith said

"What are you doing here?" Cordelia's voice was ice cold.

"I can explain everything." Faith said "Just give me a chance."

"Sure," Angel said "We'll listen." Faith's sigh of relief made Angel realize just how tense she had been. Now it was as though weights were falling off her shoulders. However she still looked exhausted. "Why don't we go into the office? We can talk." The 'without Cordelia jumping down your throat every other word' was silent but everyone still heard it.

"Sure," Faith followed Angel into the office.

Cordelia scowled as she watched them make their way across the lobby. The look of hate and revulsion on her face kind of scared Fred. Fred moved closer to Gunn. "What's that story?"

Even though she had whispered Cordelia heard her. "It's a delightful tale, really."

It was impossible to miss the sarcasm. "So you don't like this Faith person?"

"No, and I don't like the fact that she isn't serving her prison sentence right now."

…

As Wesley approached the Hyperion, marking his second attempt to return to work today, he practiced his apology to Cordelia. He would need to cut to the chase, no pun intended, in order to avoid her starting in on him before he got a word out. So he would start with sorry and then work his way onto just why he was sorry and that he had no right to be so disrespectful towards her and it would never happen again. That should satisfy her. He saw her in the lobby talking to Gunn and Fred. The angry expression on her face was disheartening but maybe if he threw in an extra 'I was wrong and you were right' he might be able to overcome the foul mood she was in the middle of. Wesley took a deep breath and pushed the door open. All three of the lobby's occupants turned to look at him. He caught a sentence fragment. "Bitch woke up and came to L.A. to kill-" He wondered what they were talking about. He would ask later.

"Cordelia I just want to tell you that I am very…" He saw the door to his office open and Angel came out with a young woman in tow, a horribly familiar young woman. "Faith,"

When Angel saw Wesley he looked horrified. Faith looked away, so Wes couldn't read her expression, but he doubted it was a pleased sort of look. "Wesley," Angel said "I thought…"

"Wes," Cordy said "This looks bad I know, but believe me- well it is bad, but-"

"Cordy," Angel said softly

"Oh God, I wish I were anywhere but here." Wesley said

He felt a light hand on his shoulder. "Done," Then everything went black.

…

Angel sat down behind Wesley's desk. Faith took the seat in front. "I guess I should start from the beginning." Faith said "It's all kind of crazy. I broke out of prison. I wouldn't have come here, but I wanted to explain to you. I didn't want you to hear about the escape and then think that I was rogue again. Well maybe I am, but I don't mean to be. I had to break out though, because someone is trying to kill me. I don't know who, but they mean business."

"Is this someone in the prison?" Angel asked

"I don't think so. A few inmates tried to do me in, but the one I managed to get any information out of said it was a bounty. There's a price on my head and more than a few demons and humans have tried to collect it. I couldn't protect myself in prison, so I had to leave."

Angel took in her haggard appearance. "When's the last time you slept?"

Faith shrugged. "Sleeping is dangerous. I have to keep on the move."

For a moment they just appraised each other. "You did the right thing." Angel said finally

Faith smiled, it was weak, but there. "You're not angry?"

"No, let's go talk to the others."

"Cordelia seemed-"

"I'll handle Cordy." Angel said "Come on." It seemed like a blessing now that Wesley had run out earlier. This might be easier to explain over the phone. But when Angel exited the office with Faith Wesley was standing by the lobby doors. "Wesley," Angel said "I thought…"

Angel tried to come up with the words to explain, but all he could see was a vulnerable hurt expression on his friend's face, concealing a little bit of terror. That fear, which Wesley took such great pains to cover up, kept Angel from thinking of an explanation. Faith turned away, but Angel could see the shame on her face. She saw the fear too. "Wes," Cordy said "This looks bad I know, but believe me- well it is bad, but-" Cordelia was panicking, never a good sign.

"Cordy," Angel said softly

"Oh God, I wish I were anywhere but here." Angel saw the truth of that in Wesley and he hated himself a little for making his friend feel this way, feel unsafe and unwelcome.

A woman appeared behind Wesley, just sprang into being. She put her hand on his shoulder and before Angel could shout a warning about the probable demon standing behind his friend she spoke in a voice so quiet only Angel and Wesley, whose ear was close to her lips, heard what she said. "Done," There was a flash of light that blinded all of them and when Angel could see again things were much the same as they had been with the notable exception that Wesley and the woman were gone. Angel stared at where they had been and tried to stifle the panic blooming in his chest. This day was by no means getting off to a good start.

…

Wesley rubbed his head as he sat up. He looked around the lobby of the Hyperion and gasped in shock. This building was abandoned, and had been for some time. Wesley struggled to his feet and moved further inside. Had he been transported to the future? Although this might also be the past as the Hyperion had been in this condition before they had slayed the Thesulac demon and then moved in. Wesley listened for the whisperings that were telltale for the presence of a Thesulac. _'You're lost. You're in a strange place with no friends. What now little boy?'_

Wesley shivered. He quickly headed outside. So this was the past then. He cursed himself for his stupidity in making a wish so soon after a run-in with a vengeance demon. "I must be utterly daft." He berated himself "I must have a secret death wish or something. Now what?"

It was a beautiful sunny day and Wesley was almost tempted to just go to the park and relax on a bench. Maybe he could just wait for time to catch up to him and then wander over to the Hyperion and surprise his friends by reappearing only a few moments after his sudden disappearance, wouldn't that be disorienting. He chuckled to himself at the thought. It didn't look as though the time difference was too vast. The cars were all current models and the buildings all looked the same to Wesley. Wesley saw a newspaper vendor. "Excuse me,"

The vendor smiled at him. "Can I help you sir?"

"I think so, can you tell me today's date?"

The vendor did so with a smile.

"Umm… Can you include the year with that?"

This amused the vendor. "A little out of touch aren't we?"

Wesley smiled at the good-humored man. "I suppose I am."

The vendor gave the date again, this time with the year. Wesley frowned. The vendor had given him the same date it had been when Wesley had disappeared. "Something wrong?"

Wesley shook his head. "No, I uh… I forgot my anniversary."

"It only comes on certain years?" The vendor was now quite amused.

Wesley gave the vendor a shaky smile. "It's complicated."

"Well good luck with your complications." The vendor said

"Thanks," Wesley walked away, thinking.

…

"What just happened?" Gunn asked in an affronted tone

Cordy stared at the now empty space where her friend had been. Yet even as she panicked she was taking in what was happening around her. She registered annoyance at how Gunn always reacted to situations that confused him with anger, as though someone was screwing with him. But she was angry too. This wasn't directionless anger like Gunn's though, oh no. She knew just who she was angry with. She turned around and her eyes locked on her target, a certain super-strong prison escapee. "You bitch," Faith stepped back, wary.

"Cordelia," Angel said "We need to focus on-"

"Shut up. Unless you have an explanation for what just happened you can just shut your mouth because I have had it with…" A memory surfaced, unbidden. A fresh break-up, a new student, a lost necklace, and events she couldn't remember but that had come out later and left her with no shortage of animosity toward the newest (ex)demon attending Sunnydale High.

"Cordy?" Fred asked

"Vengeance demon," Cordelia said "That was a vengeance demon."

Angel swore. "That's why you never say the W word."

"Don't you dare blame this on him!" Cordelia said "This is your fault!"

"I wasn't-"

Before Angel could finish Faith spoke up. "No, it's my fault. I should never have come here, but I promise I'll do everything I can to help you find Wesley. I swear Cordelia."

Cordelia turned away in disgust. "What can you do?"

"Well first," Angel said "Why don't we call Giles?"

Cordelia was ready to lay into Angel some more, but she recognized the wisdom of this plan and went to her purse to get her cellphone. She had no idea what that demon had done to Wesley but calling someone who could get them in touch with a former vengeance demon was a good first step in getting him back. She just hoped he was still alive. With that in mind her hands shook a little while she punched the number of her former librarian into her cellphone.

"Is Wesley going to be okay?" Fred asked "He's not… ya know… Is he?"

"He'll be fine." Angel said

"How do you know?" Gunn asked

In truth Angel was going over what had happened in his head and imagining a million horrific scenarios. Anywhere but here was as about as vague as one could get in specifying a preferred destination. The demon might have sent Wesley to hell, or to the bottom of the ocean, or to the middle of a war zone. Any unpleasant place that existed was a possibility for where his friend might be, and Angel was imagining quite a few of them. "I don't, but we have to hope."

…

It really was a beautiful day. Wesley ended up going to the park after all, because why the hell not go to the park? Wesley had no idea where he was, but it wasn't oppressively hot, nor was it chilly. The sky was baby blue and birds were singing. Wesley could not remember the last time he had actually heard a bird sing. He had started to believe it was one of those things that only happened in books. But in the park birds were singing and fluttering from branch to branch on this beautiful day. It seemed odd that a vengeance demon would do him a favor, so he knew this beautiful illusion would have to break eventually. Yet, all the more reason to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air while it lasted. If a demon was going to come rushing out of the trees and bisect him in a few moments Wesley wanted to enjoy those few moments preceding the unpleasant bisecting. Again Wesley chuckled. He didn't know how he had gone from crying in his apartment because of his overwhelming guilt to laughing in the park, but it was a pleasant change that he wanted to stick with. Maybe that was the vengeance demon's plan. Maybe she wanted him to enjoy himself so much that he didn't try to get home and ended up missing a major apocalyptic battle. If that was her plan it just might work. Wesley sighed, probably best to be trying to find a way home then. But back home there was guilt. Back home there was sweet innocent Fred who didn't hate him even though she should. Back home there was angry Cordelia and a Gunn who couldn't understand. Back home there was Angel who… was with Faith.

Wesley scowled and left the park, no longer in a good mood. He didn't know how Faith had gotten out of prison, but somehow parole seemed doubtful. He had been perfectly willing to hope she found peace and redemption when she was safely behind bars, but now that she was out he remembered pain that grew and grew, never stopping. He remembered aches that didn't fade for days while his coworkers acted as though nothing had happened. He remembered nightmares he could tell no one about, ones that ended with him on fire begging Faith to please stop, to please untie him so he could go out into the rain and be doused. But she just laughed and laughed while he burned and burned. Now she was at the Hyperion, cutting him again. Now she was free and in his office chatting with Angel. He shook with anger. Perhaps he should stay here and let his friends handle what was to come alone. If Angel was so eager to welcome back into his life the woman that had brutally tortured his friend, well that spoke volumes as to how much regard Angel had for that friendship. Wesley felt the anger fade. He made a feeble attempt to hold onto it and then let it go. He sat down on another bench. This wasn't Angel's fault, he knew that even if he wanted to pretend otherwise. If Faith had just shown up as she must have while Wesley was at his apartment Angel could hardly turn her away. If she was dangerous, Angel had to ascertain that and deal with her. If she was in trouble he had to help her. Wesley couldn't fault Angel for talking to Faith, and that had probably been what they were doing. Wesley rubbed his face and came to a decision. It was time to go home and sort this out. He hunted for a payphone and when he found one he searched his pockets for change. If he was going to find a way home he might want to start by figuring out where he was. If this wasn't the past or the future it could be an alternate dimension. The best way to find out was to start calling people. The Hyperion was out as he already knew it was abandoned. On a lark he tried his own home number first.

The phone rang three times. "Hello?" A child's voice said

"Hello, I'm looking for a Wesley Wyndam-Pryce."

"I don't know him, bye." The dead line buzzed.

Wesley shrugged and then tried Cordelia's apartment. That number rang and rang until Wesley hung up. There wasn't even a message. He then tried her cellphone, which in wherever this was belonged to a stranger. Angel's cell phone was also a stranger's. The next number he tried was Gunn. Again, the number was for someone he had never met. Wesley decided he might want to try some numbers outside of L.A. before he ran out of change. He heard the phone ring and waited for either an unfamiliar voice or a familiar British accent. He hoped for the second.

"Hello," That was unmistakably Rupert Giles.

Wesley sighed with relief. "Hello Mr. Giles-"

"You son of a bitch! I hope you remember me telling you that if I ever saw you again I would kill you! That was no idle threat! Stay out of Sunnydale and stay away from the slayers!"

Wesley held the handset projecting the sound of a dead line and stared at the payphone with no comprehension. He wasn't on the best of terms with Rupert Giles, but he couldn't recall anything between them that would cause the reserved Englishman to react so violently to just the sound of Wesley's voice. He certainly recalled no such death threat as the one Giles had mentioned on the phone. Wesley's good mood thoroughly vanquished, he tried one last number.


	2. Crime & Punishment

Anya was aggravated when Giles interrupted her important ring staring to try to bug her with unimportant things. "Go away annoying old man, I am looking at this beautiful diamond."

"Anya, this is serious. Do you remember Angel?"

"Yes, yes," Anya waved her hand impatiently. "He is Buffy's older ex-boyfriend."

"Well that's the simplified version. He needs your help. A friend of his accidentally made a wish and a vengeance demon transported him… somewhere. Can you talk to him?"

Anya sighed and held her hand not sporting a beautiful diamond on it out for the phone while she continued to stare at her ring. "Speak quickly annoying vampire, I'm busy."

"Anya?" The phone asked

"Yes, yes, I am she."

"Listen, a friend of mine-"

"What was the exact wording of the wish?"

"He said, and I quote: 'I wish I were anywhere but here.' Then he vanished."

"Then he could be anywhere." Anya said

"Could you maybe narrow that down?" Angel asked

"Somewhere unpleasant, look is there anything else? I'm bored."

She sensed agitation in the vampire's voice but was unbothered by it. "Do you have ways of getting in touch with other vengeance demons? Or could you at least get me a name?"

"Do you have a general description?"

"Black hair, green eyes, pale, kind of pretty."

"Kind of pretty or very pretty?" Anya asked

"I don't know, not really my type, I guess kind of pretty. How is this-"

"Short or tall?"

"Tall I guess, I didn't really measure-"

"Light green or dark green eyes?"

"I don't know!" He took a second. "Light green,"

"How long was her hair?"

"It was a bob cut. Do you really need-"

"Never been outside pale or sickly pale?"

"I don't know the difference!"

"Well that _could_ be Riosha, the avenger of those cheated in unscrupulous business dealings, but it _might_ be Liyanna, the avenger of those victimized by violent crimes."

Angel paused. "How do I get in touch with Liyanna?"

"You'd have to summon her. Then there would be a binding spell to prevent her from teleporting away the second you did. But she won't help you get your friend back."

"Even if we threaten to cut her head off?" Angel asked

"Well," Anya thought about it. "Then she might. Anyway, call Willow about that spell, you are officially very boring." Anya hung up the phone and then returned to her ring.

…

Wesley was pleased when the phone was picked up in the middle of the second ring and answered by a young-sounding chap who had to compete to be heard over the commotion of a busy nightclub. "This is Caritas. How can I help you?" The young man asked Wesley

"I need to speak to Lorne. Is he available?"

"Ummm… I think you have the wrong number."

Wesley's heart sank. Then he remembered. "The host!" He might have shouted a bit too loud, but oh well. "Is the host in by any chance? This is a most urgent matter."

He heard the man's voice as from a distance. "Hey boss!"

Wesley was relieved when the familiar Pylean's voice came through the line. "Hello?"

"Oh thank God, my name is Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, do you know me?"

"Sorry sugar, I can't say that I do. Can I help you with something?"

"Maybe, I need a reading. I may have been sent here from an alternate dimension."

"What kind of alternate dimension?" Lorne asked "Not Pylea?"

"No, it's remarkably similar to this dimension, just a few small changes."

"Well come on over. Do you know where the club is?"

"Yes, I'll be there as soon as possible."

"See you then."

Wesley put the phone in the cradle and smiled as he made his way toward the bar where human and demon alike could enjoy drink and song at the one place in L.A. where it didn't matter who you were or what you had done. All were welcome at Caritas.

…

Fred was confused. And she was confused about if she should be confused. Charles was confused, which was a good sign because at least she wasn't alone. But nobody else was confused so maybe she shouldn't be either. Cordelia was angry. Cordelia was angry a lot, but this was different. Cordelia was angry at that woman, Faith. Cordelia had started to tell them why, but then Wesley had shown up and everything had gone kerblooy. Cordelia had started by clearing up the there can only be one issue by explaining that Angel's girlfriend Buffy that had died a few months ago had died before. Fred thought her life insurance premiums must be really high but then decided she probably didn't have life insurance because who would give a dead person life insurance? When Buffy died the first time a replacement slayer was called even though Buffy got right back up a few seconds later and killed the nasty vampire that had killed her in what must have been a satisfying vengeance. Fred had jumped in with the speculation that Faith had been the replacement slayer only to be given the evil eye by Cordelia and told that Kendra, a young Jamaican woman, had been Buffy's replacement. Fred was suitably abashed for a microsecond and then she posited that Faith had been called when Buffy died the most recent time only to get snapped at again. Then Fred shut up and let Cordy talk. Cordy explained that Kendra had died. This is when Faith was called. Then Cordy told Fred and Gunn about how Faith was a terrible slayer because she was a big evil skank. Fred didn't think that was very nice, even if someone is evil that's no reason to slut shame them. Then Fred remembered Cordelia's foul mood and kept her mouth shut this time. Cordelia told them about Faith allying herself with the evil mayor of Sunnydale and that she got stabbed by Buffy and went into a coma where she slept through the whole giant snake debacle. Fred must have missed the evil snake part, but she wasn't about to ask for clarification. This was right around the part of the story where Wesley came in and the kerblooyness happened. Cordelia had said: "Then the bitch woke up and came to L.A. to kill-" That was the last thing she said before Wesley vanished. Now Cordelia was cross-referencing the list of ingredients they needed for the spells Willow had told them about with the inventory Wesley kept of all the supplies they had. Angel was on the phone with Lorne asking him to come over and act as their lie detector for when they questioned the evil demon. Faith was sitting in the corner. She looked sad. Fred wanted to know who it was Faith had tried to kill, because that was important to her. Was it Cordy? Was that why she was so mad? Maybe it was Wesley; that would explain how everyone had acted when he showed up. If Faith had tried to kill Wesley Fred wanted to know why they were helping her and not kicking her out right now.

"Cordy?"

"I'm busy Fred." Cordy snapped

Gunn took Fred's arm and attempted to steer her away from the volatile Cordelia and the rant just below the surface waiting to get free. "Maybe we should give Cordelia some space."

"But I want to know who Faith tried to kill. You said she came to L.A. to kill someone."

Cordelia looked at Fred, eyes ablaze with barely constrained fury. "Oh I'll tell you."

"No," Faith got up and walked over to them. "I did it, I'll tell them."

Cordelia crossed her arms and smiled with no humor. "Go ahead. I can't wait to see how you spin it so that you're the innocent victim and we're the boogeymen. Be my guest."

Faith took a deep breath. Fred saw that she was trembling. "When I came to L.A. I accepted a contract to kill Angel." Faith reacted neither to Fred's gasp, Gunn's raised eyebrow, nor Cordy's look of loathing. "I didn't want to kill him, I wanted him to kill me. Angel's one of the few people I think could take me in a fight. I figured if I accepted Angel would have to kill me in self-defense and it would be… over." Faith took another deep breath. "But Angel didn't want to kill me, he wanted to help me. He wanted to save me." Fred saw a weak smile emerge on Faith's face and then quickly disappear. "I decided that if I wanted Angel to kill me I would have to make him mad. You see, I wanted to die. Back then when I wanted something that was all I cared about. It didn't matter to me who got hurt or used so long as I got what I wanted. So I did what I thought would make Angel mad. I broke into Cordelia's apartment and waited for a bit till she came in with none other than my old watcher. I thought, I thought, what a fitting way for me to end this." Fred wanted to offer Faith a chair because she thought the woman might collapse, but then she thought about how this story was coming along and didn't. "I could hurt Angel and get revenge on my old watcher for all these imagined slights. So after I knocked Cordy and Wesley out I took Wes to this apartment…" Faith rubbed her eyes. "I tied him to a chair and I-I-I beat him. I mean I really went at him. Then I took this piece of glass- I shattered a picture frame and there was this big piece of glass. I took that and I-" Faith drew in a painful breath.

"You can't say it can you?" Cordelia's voice dripped with loathing, but this time Fred thought her scorn was justified. Fred could imagine what the next part of the story was.

"You don't have to finish." Gunn spoke not out of kindness, but revulsion

"I do." Faith said, tears flowing freely now "I have to own up to what I did because that's the only way to ever get redemption. I have to be accountable for- my sins."

"So account." Cordy said

Faith took a final deep breath. "I cut him. I cut him a lot. There was so much blood and then I… I felt sick. I wanted it to be over. I couldn't wait for Angel anymore. I MacGyvered a homemade blowtorch and I was going to… I don't know. I've thought about it a million times and I don't know what I was going to do. Kill him fast, kill him slow, but it never got to that point because Angel showed up and saved us both. That's what I did. That's what happened."

Fred burst into tears. She didn't mean to or want to, but the hot salty water poured down her face like a torrential downpour. "How could you?" She asked "How could you do that?"

"I'm not one much for hitting girls." Gunn said "But that story-"

"Cordelia." They all turned to look at Angel.

"What?" She said in her frigid voice

"Do we have all the ingredients? Lorne is on his way."

Cordelia went back to her inventory. Gunn turned away, not even able to look at the dark slayer anymore. Fred sat down on the couch and kept crying. Angel said something to Faith that Fred didn't hear and then led the slayer upstairs to a room where she could rest. Fred wanted to tell Faith to go away and never come back. But way more than that she wanted to give Wesley a big ol hug and tell him that they were his friends. They loved him and he was going to be okay.

…

Wesley entered Caritas trying to remember the lyrics to his favorite Cat Stevens song and was surprised by just how much joy he felt upon seeing the Pylean. "Lorne!"

Lorne was shocked by the call. "How do you know my name?"

"It's me, alternate dimension guy."

"Oh yeah, but how do you know my name?"

"Well I sort of know you in the alternate dimension."

"Odd, but not overly considering my standards."

"So do you want me to sing?"

Lorne gestured to the empty stage. "Go on up."

"Um, can I just go in a back room and-" Wesley stopped talking because Lorne's grinning face was shaking from side to side. Wesley sighed. "Fine, do I have to sing it all?"

The grinning face changed direction.

"Why'd I ask?" Well, _Peace Train_ wasn't that long. Wesley went upstage and tried to pretend there wasn't anybody in the room for him to make a fool of himself in front of and remembered how much easier this had been when drunk. Wesley gripped the microphone and considered how ridiculous it was to get performance anxiety in this type of situation. "Now I've been happy lately, thinking about the good things to come. And I believe it could be something good has begun. Oh, I've been smiling lately, dreaming about the world as one and I believe it could be some day it's going to come. 'Cause out on the edge of darkness there rides a peace train. Oh, peace train take this country, come take me home again." Wesley shifted nervously and realized he was sweating. He didn't think he was going to make it through the whole song and some evil tequila would really come in handy right about now. He swallowed. "Now I've been smiling lately, thinking about the good things to come and I believe it could be something good has begun." Wesley put the microphone down and scampered offstage. He wasn't even a third through the song, but he felt like an idiot. He sat down at a table and just knew that the tips of his ears were red. Lorne chuckled as he sat down next to the Englishman and put a beer down in front of him. "Drink up bub. I know you wanted tequila, but you need your wits in top form."

"You read me? Is it bad? What happened?"

"Well it seems that a vengeance demon decided it would be oh so funny to send you to an alternate dimension where all of your worst fears are true. It's not a real dimension mind you, it's like the one that had to be dealt with back in Sunnydale. You see Wes, there's only one true version of each dimension. What makes the true dimension true is that it makes the rules for all the shadow dimensions that spring up because of spells and other mystical interference. If the 'true' version of anything dies so does its counterparts. The shadow dimensions are often little what if games the universe plays with fate, but when the real world goes bye-bye so will all the shadow ones and if the real version of somebody dies, so does their counterpart. Now I probably could have explained that a lot better if I was a physicist like the beautiful young woman you're smitten with back home, but I'm not so I can't. Wish magic is powerful and your wish created this dimension. Well your wish granter did, but I digress. What's important to remember is that nothing here is real. If you remember nothing else I tell you remember that you are the only real thing in this shadow dimension. All of the people here are reflections, even me. If you were to kill me the real version of me would never know the difference, but if you killed _him_ every version of me, including me me, would die. Do you understand what I'm saying Wesley?"

"Yes, you don't have to be so repetitive, I'm not an idiot."

"Just so we're clear, what here is real?"

"I am." Wesley said

"And what else?"

"Nothing, I get it." Wesley was starting to get aggravated.

Lorne sighed. "I can see it in you, you're not going to listen to me."

"I'm listening to you, I get it. Why, what's the big deal?"

"That vengeance demon sent you to a world inhabited by your worst fear."

"It doesn't seem so bad here." Wesley said

"That's because you haven't met _him_." Lorne said

"Who?" Wesley asked

Lorne sighed. "You're going to freak out."

Wesley sighed. "I promise not to freak out."

Lorne shook his head. "You will."

"Then you might as well go ahead and tell me."

Lorne shrugged. "Good point. Okay, the version of you here is evil."

Wesley frowned. "How evil are we talking? Do I work for Wolfram & Hart?"

"He's not evil evil, he's a very human evil. He's…" Lorne shifted uncomfortably.

"What?"

"The vengeance demon created this dimension to torment you, so she created a version of you that is everything you fear. It's basically a long-term version of you when Billy happened."

All color drained from Wesley's face. "That's… effective."

"Remember, this dimension-"

"Isn't real, I get it." But the tremor is Wesley's voice indicated he was lying.

…

Angel made sure everything was in place before he started the spell. He was nervous for several reasons. First of all, Wesley usually did stuff like this. Secondly, but related to the first, Angel was concerned for his friend. Most of his other concerns went back to those first two, was Wesley okay? Was he alive? If not that vengeance demon would have an unpleasant fate. In a circle Lorne, Fred, Cordelia, and Gunn stood around the symbol they had drawn on the floor while Angel stood to the side holding the book with the spell in it. Faith had come downstairs for the spell casting despite Angel's recommendation. She sat on the couch watching them.

"Angel, let's go." Cordy said "You might not be getting any older, but we are."

"Okay, here goes." Angel began to read from the book.

The symbol on the floor began to glow as Angel got further into the spell and as he completed the final word there was a flash of light and the woman who had shown up right before Wesley disappeared stood before them. She looked around. "Crap," She said

"Yeah," Cordy said "Crap, and if you don't tell us where Wesley is, we're going to have you screaming things a lot worse than that. So I'd start talking before we get impatient."

The vengeance demon rolled her eyes. "You're forgetting… Oh dear," She frowned

"What's wrong?" Angel asked "Your teleportation not working?"

"Ok, you got me. Fair is fair and when I'm beat, I'm beat. Your friend is dead."

Angel froze. That couldn't be true, there was no way. Wesley had been tortured, blown up, and shot; but every time he came through it. Angel couldn't believe that his friend was dead because of something so stupid after everything they had been through together. It didn't seem fair that someone so brave that had worked so hard for good should die because of a stupid wish he made on accident when he wasn't in his right mind. Angel felt tears begin to push against the corners of his eyes. This was surreal. "She's lying." Angel heard four people let out held breaths and realized that Faith was just as much hanging on every word the vengeance demon said as Fred, Cordy, or Gunn. Lorne shook his head. "Nice try cupcake, but you don't want to play around with these people. They feel pretty strongly about their friend. Where is he?"

The vengeance demon let out an aggravated sigh. "I sent him to an alternate dimension."

Fred gasped. "Not like Pylea?!" Gunn put a hand on her trembling shoulder.

"Oh no sweetie, much worse than that." The demon leered at her. "There's no reason to be so upset though. It's you that brought me here. Your terrible dreams of a monstrous man."

Fred began to shake harder. Gunn was afraid that she would topple over. "No! That can't be true! Those were just dreams, I didn't dream them on purpose. I would never hurt Wesley."

"She's lying Fred." Cordelia said "Just trying to mess with you."

Angel had no idea how Cordelia could know that, but then he glanced at her and realized for all her apparent coldness at times, Cordelia was a very empathetic person. It was very likely that this demon had been drawn here by Fred's nightmares, but that didn't make it Fred's fault so Cordelia had told her the demon was lying. "How do we get to this alternate dimension?"

The demon chuckled in response to Angel's question. "Why would you want to do that?"

"To get our friend back." Gunn said

The demon laughed some more. "Why do you want him back? He's defective. I sent him off to die and soon the world will be rid of another broken human. You should thank me."

Angel wanted to reach into the circle and shake this evil bitch until blood poured out of her eyes, but that would break the binding spell. "Tell us how to get to the other dimension."

"And back," Cordelia said

"And back," Angel amended

The demon crossed her arms. "Make me."

"Excuse me," All eyes turned to the speaker, Faith. Angel had never heard her speak with such soft unobtrusiveness. She got up and spoke civilly to the demon. "Do you know who I am?"

"You're one of the slayers." The demon spoke with intense loathing.

"So you know what I do then? What I'm built for?"

"To kill vampires." The demon said "Yeah, I know."

"See, you must not have heard of me then. I'm different from the other slayer. I'll kill pretty much anything, sometimes just because it pissed me off. I've killed innocent people because they were standing where I wanted to put my stake. I'll kill a vamp, sure. But I'll kill a demon just as easy. A demon like you, who's annoying the fuck out of me, you're done."

"I'd listen to her if I were you." Cordelia said "I've seen what this bitch is capable of."

The demon took a moment to consider. "I can send you there, but it'll be up to you to find your own way back. And if your friend dies while you're there the dimension I sent him to, having fulfilled its purpose, will vanish. You will die. Are you willing to risk that mortals?"

"Yes," Fred said instantly

"For damn sure," Gunn said

"In a heartbeat," Cordelia whispered

"Yes," Angel said

"I'll go too." Faith said "I owe him."

"I'll stay here." Said Lorne "Interdimensional trips with you guys tend to be not so fun."

"Thanks for your help." Angel said sincerely "If it weren't for you we wouldn't even know that Wes is alive." Angel surveyed his friends. "Anyone who wants to stay-"

"Can line up for an ass-whooping." Cordelia said

"Fred," Angel said "I know you just escaped one hell dimension. No one would blame you if you wanted to stay here. You can look after the business while we're gone."

Fred shook her head. "For five years I went to sleep every night praying that someone would come find me and take me home. Then y'all showed up like a miracle. If Wes is in some terrible hell dimension all by himself and feeling scared I want to be a part of his miracle."

The demon rolled her eyes. "I think I'm going to vomit."

"Lorne," Angel said "We're leaving her here. If we don't come back do you think you could call Buffy and ask her to do some slaying for me? Sort of as one last favor?"

"It goes against my principles to have someone killed." Lorne said "But I'll call Buffy and tell her what happened to you and let her decide for herself what to do with Liyanna."

"Good enough," Angel said "Everyone gets five minutes to pack."

…

"So how do I get home?" Wesley asked

"I don't know." Lorne said "Maybe some kind of spell?"

"I know of a powerful witch, but based on what Giles said on the phone she and I aren't on good terms. I'm probably not on good terms with any of my friends in this dimension."

As if the phrase had summoned him Wesley heard a familiar voice. "It's true."

Wesley and Lorne both turned to look at who had spoken. "Angel," Wesley said

"You son of a bitch, what are you doing this close to Sunnydale?"

"I can explain, I'm not what you think." Wesley said

"It's true." Lorne said

"And now you're friends with demons?" Angel said "So it's not enough to be a murdering rapist, now you're consorting with the forces of darkness. Was hurting little girls not getting your rocks off anymore? You should have known better than to come back to California."

Wesley felt sick. "Angel please," Wesley said "I'm not who you think I am."

Angel rolled his eyes. "You're not Wesley Wyndam-Pryce?"

"No, I mean yes. It's complicated."

"Well let's see how simple it gets when I crush your skull." Angel moved towards Wesley and then three things happened at once. Wesley tried to get out of his chair and Angel's line of fire while Angel swung his fist at him and a blue barrier went up and sent Angel flying into the staircase that led outside. "What the hell?" Angel demanded as he got to his feet

"The sanctorum spell," Wesley whispered "Thank goodness,"

"Handy huh?" Lorne said "Good thing the club isn't destroyed in this dimension."

"I don't know what kind of sick game you and the council are playing, but just know that if the slayer finds out you're in L.A. she might start craving sun and sand." Angel said

"I'm not who you think I am." Wesley said "Please believe me."

Angel headed for the exit. "I'll see you around Wyndam-Pryce. Let's see how tough you are without a fancy protection spell to hide behind. Remember, payback's a bitch."


	3. Ego Sum

Angel slung his bag over his shoulder and surveyed his companions. Faith was a slayer and she was his best asset in the combat department. But she was exhausted and he was sure that would impact her fighting ability. Gunn was the next best fighter and in better health than Faith at the moment, but his emotional stability was in question. Although to be fair Angel wasn't sure how emotionally stable Faith was either. In fact, they were all on edge and he imagined they would be until they found Wesley safe and sound. Cordelia's combat training had progressed, but Angel doubted she would be able to hold her own against many of the demonic species that roamed various hell dimensions. As for Fred, well Fred was tougher than she looked, not to mention resourceful. The Billy incident could have turned out a lot worse than it had if not for Fred's quick thinking and inventiveness. Fred was an unassuming young woman, but with her clever mind she might turn out to be the most useful person on this expedition. Angel told himself to keep that in mind. He looked at Lorne. "She's going to send us to where Wesley is?"

Lorne nodded. "I can't get a read on what it's like, just that it's bad."

"Well we'll only be there long enough to get Wes and get out." Gunn said

"So let's get a move on then." Cordy said "The sooner we go the sooner we can leave."

Angel took Cordelia's and Faith's hands. "I'm ready."

Gunn took Cordelia's hand, leaving Fred between him and Faith. Fred gave the slayer a disgusted glance before she took her hand. Angel looked at the demon. "We're ready."

The demon mumbled a few words and then Angel felt reality slide away. A new reality slammed into him like a freight train and they were all on the ground, no longer holding hands but scattered across the lobby floor. Angel sat up. They were at the Hyperion, but he knew they were no longer home. The cobwebs, dust, and moldy smell told him that this place wasn't anybody's home, except for maybe a few rats. "This is spooky." Fred said

"It looks just like it did before we moved in." Cordelia said

"Besides the creep factor I don't see what's so bad about this." Gunn said

Angel heard whispering in his ear. _'You'll never find your friend. You'll fail him just like you did Buffy and Darla, just like you failed Doyle. How many more have to die for your cause?'_

Angel shivered. "The Thesulac is still here."

Angel saw that Faith was turning green. "Can we leave?"

"We need to go before it starts to affect us, come on." Angel looked outside and realized a stroll down the street wouldn't be an option for him for another few hours. "You guys head out the front door, I'll take the tunnels. We'll meet at sunset." Angel thought about where to meet.

"Let's meet up in front of the hotel." Cordy said "We don't know how different things are here so it's the only place we know exists." Cordy looked outside. "How odd."

"It looks just like L.A." Gunn said

"But it's not." Faith said

"Thank you Captain Obvious." Cordelia said in her most malicious voice

"Cordy," Angel said

"Angel why don't you take Ms. Likes-to-play-with-sharp-things-and-fire with you?"

"I'll feel better about leaving you guys if Faith is there to protect you."

"Protect us?" Cordelia asked "You must be joking."

"I won't hurt you Cordelia." Faith said "I want to help."

"If you want to help so bad I suggest you start by keeping your mouth shut."

Faith looked away. Fred had to quash involuntary sympathy by reminding herself that this woman had tortured Wesley. Angel started to say something and then seemed to decide that it was pointless. "I'll see all of you soon. Be safe. None of us are any good to Wes dead."

"Except for you," Gunn pointed out

"Ha, ha," Angel said dryly before he disappeared into the basement

…

Wesley looked at Lorne. "Payback for what?"

Lorne helped Wesley to his feet. "Best not to dwell on that."

"What did I do?" Wesley insisted

"_You _didn't do anything. It was your evil twin."

"Fine, what did my evil twin do?"

"Wesley, your only priority needs to be getting back home. Once you do this whole dimension is just going to disappear anyway. So use that big ol brain of yours and think."

Wesley sighed. "There are books and spell ingredients I'll need. Normally I'd have everything at the Hyperion, but here it's still abandoned. And I don't have any money."

"I'll loan you the money. You can pay the real me back when you get home."

Something occurred to Wesley. "When I leave and this dimension disappears won't you also cease to exist? Why would you want to help me if it leads to your own demise?"

"Because I'm not me, I'm a reflection of me. Real me would want to help you so I might as well do it for him. I exist only as a representation of certain qualities of the real version of myself and now I know that the only action I can take that would have any meaning is helping you because I don't really exist. I don't even have free will. Like I said, just a reflection."

Wesley rubbed his head. "Then why do I have to reimburse real you when I get back to my dimension? He won't have lost any money and I won't have gained any."

"I think real me deserves a little compensation after all the grief your lot has put him through in the short time you've known each other. You destroyed my club." Lorne said

"So if I told the other Angel that he was just a reflection of the real one-"

"He wouldn't believe you." Lorne said "I'd avoid this dimension's version of your friend if I were you. He wants to put some serious hurt to you and that won't help you get home."

Wesley sighed. "Right, I should probably go get those books while it's light then."

Lorne handed him a bundle of bills. "Whatever you do, don't die."

"Well gee, I was going to do that, but now that you-"

"On your way smartass." Lorne said "I'll see you when you get back."

Wesley headed out into the sunlight and thought about what Angel had said. Well it wasn't really Angel, but it wasn't Angelus either. Some version of Angel, some version of his close friend, hated him and wanted to see him dead. Maybe it wasn't the real Wesley and the real Angel, but Lorne had said the people in this universe were reflections of their real selves. If that was the case, how could any version of Wesley be what Angel had said? Wesley remembered the rage that had filled him after Billy's blood took effect. Was there really a Wesley Wyndam-Pryce out there that was like that all the time? If there was Wesley could understand why Angel, or anyone really, would want that person dead. Wesley felt like he was going to throw up so he stopped for a moment and sat down at a bus stop. Somewhere in this world was a man with his face and name that had committed horrible crimes. Was that person inside of Wesley? Had the vengeance demon simply pulled him out of where Wesley had put him after Billy's touch wore off and created a world where he had always been? Was there a monster living in him created not by the bite of a vampire, but by his own human flaws? Wesley got to his feet and hurried toward the book store. He did not like this place, and he did not want to be here one second longer.

…

Cordelia looked up and down the street. "This isn't right."

"It's exactly like back home." Gunn said "Exactly,"

Fred wandered away while Cordy kept talking. "If the vengeance demon wanted Wesley to suffer why didn't she send him to some custom made hell with fire and… bad stuff?"

"Maybe this is Wesley's hell." Faith said

"Right," Cordy said acidly "Wesley's hell is everything the same as it was."

"Maybe he was already suffering and the only difference here is that he doesn't have you guys to help him. Maybe losing all of you is his worst nightmare. How would you feel if you woke up in the Hyperion all alone and realized everything you're used to is just… gone?"

Cordelia _really_ wanted to snap at Faith, but that was a good question. "Bad,"

"When he said I Wi- the W word, he wanted to be somewhere else. What he saw, me coming out of the office with Angel, really hurt him. Maybe it wasn't just seeing me again, maybe it was feeling like he wasn't a priority to people he cares about. Here, the people he cares about might not even exist. Here he's all alone. That's the worst thing in the world you know."

"Being alone?" Gunn asked skeptically

"Alone isn't just being by yourself." Faith said "It's being by yourself when you don't want to be. You can be by yourself and not be alone because you know there are people you can call that would spend time with you. But when you don't have that, that's when you're alone."

"How do you know so much about this?" Cordelia asked angrily

"I did a lot of thinking in prison." She said "I thought about myself and about the people that I hurt. I thought about the kind of person that would risk his life for the person that tortured him the night before. Nobody does that Cordelia. Not even Wesley."

"But he did." Cordelia said "He fought off one of those council goons."

"Not for me," Faith said "He'd have to be an idiot to do that for me. Wesley might be a lot of things that I don't know, but he's not an idiot. I know that because when I did what I did I looked in his eyes and there wasn't any hope there. He thought he was going to die. Do you know how hard it is for the human brain to accept an imminent death? We'll deny it's happening until we're gone, but Wesley knew he was going to die. He knew I was going to kill him."

"He didn't think Angel would save him?" Cordy whispered

"That's the thing Cordelia. That's who he fought the council for. He did it because Angel was in danger, because Angel thought it was right. There are two kinds of people who are that loyal, saints, and the very lonely. And Cordelia it really sucks to die alone, especially that alone."

Before either Cordelia or Gunn could respond they heard Fred calling out their names and turned to see her jumping up and down by a newspaper cart waving her arms. "Cordy! Charles!"

The two exchanged a look and went over to her with Faith close behind. "Yeah Fred,"

"He saw Wesley!" She pointed at the vendor.

"How do you know it was Wesley?" Cordelia asked

"I don't get many blue-eyed Brits with glasses coming over here to ask me what the date is, including the year. That's sort of a memorable thing." The vendor said

"He says Wes went that way." Fred pointed. "Right?" She asked the vendor

"Yep, he went off that way looking sort of dazed."

"Now we have a lead!"

Fred seemed so excited that Cordelia hated to burst her bubble. "Fred," Cordelia said in an uncharacteristically gentle voice "That doesn't narrow it down that much."

"What do you mean? We know he didn't go anywhere over there." Fred pointed in the opposite direction that Wes had gone. "We eliminated a whole chunk of city!"

"Unless he doubled back." Faith said

Fred frowned. "Why are you two being so pessimistic?"

Gunn took pity on her. "It's a good lead Fred, come on guys." They started down the street in the direction the vendor had indicated. Wesley could have turned off onto another street at any point and Cordelia couldn't help but feel that this was pointless. After a little while Gunn stopped suddenly and shook his head. "What are we doing? We know Wesley."

Cordelia and Fred shared a look. "Yeah," Cordelia said, confused

"So where would he go? The vendor said he looked dazed. So you're Wesley, you're disoriented, you don't know where you are or what has happened to you. Everything looks familiar, but you know you're not home. Where's the first place that you would go?"

"Home," Fred said "I would go home."

"_You_ would go home." Faith said "Wesley would call."

"And you know this because you know him so well?" Cordelia asked

"I know this because it's the practical thing to do. He would call his home, then he would try to call all of you." Faith nodded toward a payphone. "Come on."

Faith went over to the phone and handed the handset to Cordelia. "Call Wesley and if a stranger answers ask them if they've gotten any strange calls today." Faith stepped back.

Cordelia reluctantly dialed the number. She hated listening to Faith, but she had to acknowledge a good plan. She listened to the phone ring and realized how nervous she was when she heard her heart pounding against her breastbone. She swallowed hard. "Hello?"

"Hi," Cordelia said to the young woman's voice "Do you know a Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, and if not have you gotten any odd phone calls today? It's an urgent matter."

"I'm sorry I just got home and- hold on." Cordelia heard murmuring in the background and what sounded like a child's voice. "Yes actually, my son answered the phone earlier today and there was a man looking for someone, but he doesn't remember the name."

"Can you ask your son if-"

"I don't really appreciate strangers calling my house and hassling my child."

Cordelia used her smoothest sweetest schmoozing voice for the next bit. "Of course, I can completely understand how you feel. That's why I'm trying to get in contact with the man who called you earlier. You see, there's an emergency contact number for a friend of mine that's one digit away from yours and he accidentally gave everyone your number by mistake. So now when my friend's surgery is scheduled if I haven't gotten a hold of him and told him to correct his mistake people are going to be calling you asking for hospital directions and giving you condolences, it will all be very awkward. So if you could just ask your son if the name of the man that called was Wesley-Wyndam Pryce and what the man said, that'd be great."

Gunn chuckled. "Go Cordy,"

Cordelia waited for the woman to ask her son and then get back on the line. "No, that wasn't the name of the man that called. The man that called was looking for someone with that name, but I don't know what his name was. Please tell people not to call this number anymore."

Cordelia listened to the dead line hum. "He called himself looking for himself."

"He must think this is an alternate dimension." Fred said

Cordelia dialed her home number. It rang and rang until she hung up. Then she called her cell phone number and reached a woman who said a man had called earlier also looking for a Cordelia Chase. Cordy thought about all the people Wesley might have called. She went through all of their cell phone numbers and each time it was confirmed that Wesley had called, but none of them were people she knew. "Who should I call next?" Cordelia asked "Apparently none of us exist or at the very least don't have cell phones. Who would Wesley call after us?"

"Try Giles," Faith said

"Why would he call Giles?"

"If you were stuck in an alternate dimension wouldn't you call Giles?"

Cordelia shrugged and dialed the number. Giles had been helpful in their dimension when he put them in touch with Anya. There was no reason to think he wouldn't be equally helpful here, that was if he existed here. Cordelia was delighted when Giles answered. "Hello,"

"Giles!" Cordelia said in an exuberant tone

"Cordelia, where are you calling from?"

"I'm in L.A.-"

"Good Lord! How on earth did you get there? When did you leave Sunnydale?"

"Erm…"

"Has someone taken you against your will?" Giles asked

"No," Cordelia said "It's-"

"Hello Cordelia."

Cordelia turned around and saw Wesley standing there. "Wesley!" Cordelia squeaked with delight as she hung up the phone "We were so worried about you!" Cordelia threw herself into Wesley's arms. "You scared us." She hugged him as tight as she could. "Scared us lots,"

"How dreadful of me." Wesley murmured as he hugged her back

"I want to hug him!" Fred demanded

"Wait your turn." Cordelia said

"Oh sweet Cordelia." Cordy felt something cold and metal press against her gut and her eyes widened in horror. She started to pull back, but Wesley didn't loosen his grip. "I promise that everyone will get their turn. But first you're all going to answer some questions for me."

"Guys, I don't think this is Wesley." Faith said

"Brilliant deduction," Cordelia murmured

"Aren't you sassy?" Wesley asked "Now if you're all very cooperative and accommodating nobody has to get hurt. If you're not…" Cordelia felt him push the barrel of the gun deeper into her abdomen and she flinched in discomfort. "Use your imagination."

Wesley spun her around and kept his arm across her abdomen, leaving the barrel of his gun pushed into her gut. His other arm crossed over her shoulders. Cordelia felt his breath on her neck and shivered. "What's happening?" Fred asked in a shaking voice "I don't understand."

"What's happening you stupid little girl is that you and your friends are going to walk over to that car." He pointed. "Otherwise I'm going to shoot young Cordelia and let her bleed to death in the street. You wouldn't want that on your conscience now would you my dear?"

Fred began to shake again. Gunn took hold of her shoulders and stared at Wesley, or not Wesley as this clearly was not him, with contempt. Faith looked at him with haunted eyes, her expression equal parts guilt and determination. "Come on, he's not joking." She said

Cordelia heard him whisper threateningly in her ear. "I'm really not." She felt him inhale deeply, taking in the scent of her hair. The arm over her chest shifted position and his hand brushed her breast. She wanted to use her new martial arts skills on him and send him to the ground with a painful jab, but not as much as she wanted her guts to stay inside her body.

…

Wesley tossed a nervous glance at the window in the rare book shop he was in. It had taken him quite a while to find the volume he needed and the sun was now setting. He hoped he would be able to make it back to Caritas without incident. He fumbled with his cash as he got to the counter and paid for his items. "You all right sir?" The proprietor asked as he made change

"I'm fine, just a little jittery today." Wesley said

"When I get a bad case of the nerves I try to lose myself in a good book."

Wesley smiled at the man. "That's the plan."

"Come again," The proprietor smiled at Wesley.

"Yes," Wesley said as he picked the books up with his trembling hands

As Wesley made his way down the darkening street at a fast pace he found his thoughts wandering to his childhood, never a good thing. He remembered his father telling him what happened to bad little boys who roamed around at night. He remembered his father telling him about the monsters that lived in the shadows and waited for stupid children to amble past so that they could grab the children. The monsters would sink their teeth into his tender flesh and drain every last drop of blood from him unless he obeyed every edict he was given and aced every examination he attempted. Wesley shivered. Why was he thinking about that now? Wesley felt strong hands wrap around his arms and yank him back. Wesley dropped his books on the sidewalk and felt his head smack painfully into a brick wall. He stared without comprehension at a beautiful young blond woman. Buffy Summers stared at him with glittering hateful eyes while she was flanked by Angel and Xander. "Hello Wesley," She said "Long time, no see."

"Oh dear," Wesley felt his mouth go dry. How was he going to get out of this?

"Did you think I would let a challenge like this go unanswered?"

"I never meant-"

Wesley felt her strong slayer fist drive into his stomach. "I'm talking."

Wesley gasped for air like a fish flopping on a boat deck. Tears sprang into his eyes and it occurred to him that no matter what dimension he was in women with superpowers wanted to cause him physical pain. "I'd shut up and listen if I were you." Xander said "Where's Cordy?"

"What?"

Another hit to the gut and Wesley was sure a rib had cracked. "Buffy," Angel said in a chastising voice "He won't be able to answer our questions if he can't breathe. Break his arm."

Xander chuckled darkly. "Good idea dead boy, looks like hell just froze over."

"Let's take him back to Angel's office." Buffy said "We're attracting attention."

Buffy yanked Wesley away from the wall. She led him down the sidewalk while Xander whispered to him menacingly. "Try something, please. I want to see Buffy tear you apart."

"This is a misunder-" Wesley felt a powerful blow to the back of his head that made his vision swim. He blinked and his vision cleared, but his head was now throbbing and the pain was so disorienting that he couldn't keep his footing and now Buffy was pretty much dragging him down the sidewalk toward a familiar car. Angel opened the door and Buffy threw Wesley in and then got in herself and grabbed his collar. "Please," He said "I'm not who you think I-"

"Save it." Angel said as he and Xander got in the front "You'll tell us where Cordelia is eventually, it's only a matter of how much we have to hurt you before you squeal."

"I'm hoping it's a lot." Xander said "And if you did anything to her again, I don't give a damn about our no killing humans policy, I will gut you like a pig and feed you to Angel."

"I wouldn't eat something that diseased." Angel said as he started the car

Wesley began to shake. He had been in bad situations before. But as he felt Buffy's painful grip on his arms tighten more and more throughout their car ride he realized that this might be the worst predicament he had been in to date. No one was going to save him because the heroes were the ones that wanted him dead. And if he didn't give them the information he in no way had they were going to end him. Perhaps, a nagging voice in the back of his head spoke up, perhaps that was for the best. Perhaps they were doing him a favor. Angel pulled into a parking spot in front of a building Wesley recognized very well. He should, he had been in it when it blew up. Buffy opened the door and yanked him out of the car. She dragged him by his arms, which were already turning purple, toward the entrance. "Come on scumbag, it's time to meet your comeuppance. You should have stayed away. You should have stayed far away."

…

Angel paced in front of the Hyperion. Why were they late? Didn't they know they were scaring him to death? He had already lost one friend toady, now the rest were missing as well and he was pacing in front of a hotel infested with a paranoia demon. He didn't need the Thesulac whispering in his head to imagine a million different horrible scenarios. Each was worse than the last and Angel began to pace faster. They needed to get here now. Angel could picture each of them as mangled bodies. No, Faith wouldn't let that happen. But what if Faith had done something? Angel had just accepted her story without reservation. Had that been a terrible mistake? Angel shook his head. He needed to get farther away from the Thesulac and go somewhere where he could thing clearly. Angel walked away from the Hyperion and then stopped with the realization that if they showed up late and he wasn't there they would probably panic just as he was now. But if they were in trouble he had to rescue them. Angel shifted from foot to foot, feeling sick with indecision. He needed someone to help him find the right-

Angel grinned. Of course, he knew where to go. They had left Lorne back in Las Angeles, but today's fruitless search had revealed that this Las Angeles was almost identical to the one they had left. The odds that this place also had an anagogic karaoke singing proprietor of a nightclub with a soft spot for champions weren't too bad. He would find Lorne and Lorne would help him find his friends. Angel refused to consider the alternatives. He refused to consider that his friends might be hurt. He made his way toward Caritas and thought about whether he would try to defend Wesley from Cordelia's berating when they found him or just hang back and let her tire herself out. Because he would find them, all of them.


	4. Good Man

Cordelia felt the barrel of the gun pressed against the back of her head as she tied up her companions in the abandoned warehouse not Wesley had taken them to. Faith was first and Cordelia tried to keep the bonds loose. Then not Wesley pressed the gun harder against her skull and she had tied the ropes correctly. Then Cordelia had to tie up Gunn, and finally Fred, who shook like a leaf. Cordelia wanted to say something soothing to the physicist, but she also wanted to avoid the ire of their captor so she didn't. When Cordelia finished tying up Fred she felt not Wesley roughly grab her arm and shove her into a chair. He tied her bonds so tightly that she could feel the individual threads of the rope digging into her skin. Cordelia hissed with pain, which made not Wesley smile. He gripped either side of the back of her chair and put his face right in front of hers. "You're quite the mystery. Where did you come from?" Not Wesley moved a strand of hair behind her ear. Cordelia scowled at him but did not respond. Not Wesley chuckled as he went to check everyone's bonds and make sure they were secure. He took a chair for himself and turned it around and then sat down straddling the back of the chair. "Now, we're going to talk. You're going to tell me who you are and why I'm hearing all these rumors about someone who looks like but isn't me wandering around Las Angeles. Let's start with the slayer."

Faith sighed. "Go to hell." She said in a resigned voice

Wesley walked over to her and slapped her across the face. Faith's chair almost toppled over with the force of the slap. Fred gasped while Faith just chuckled. "You're not Faith."

Faith smiled at Not Wesley in response to his statement. "I guess I deserved that."

Not Wesley raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"But I'm not telling you a damn thing."

Not Wesley took a step back and gave each of them an appraising look. Cordelia felt unclean as his eyes hesitated on the more curvaceous parts of her body. Wesley walked over to Fred and everyone tensed up. "What's your name sweetheart?" He knelt down in front of her so that they were at eye level. She looked away. "Don't be afraid. Just tell me your name."

"F-Fred," She said

"That's a stupid name for a girl." Wesley said "How'd you come by that?"

"I-it's a n-nickname. M-my name's W-Winifred." Fred explained

"So your name isn't Fred? So you lied?"

"No, I-"

Not Wesley moved fast and cut off Fred's voice with a hand around her throat. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers and she gasped in pain and for air. "I detest liars Winifred."

"Let her go!" Gunn demanded

Not Wesley smiled as he complied. A large red handprint was tattooed on Fred's throat and her breathing was strained. "You will tell me what I want to know. This one," Wesley put his foot on the edge of her chair. "She's your weak link." Not Wesley pushed the edge of her chair back so that it was balancing on two legs. "You'll tell me what I want to know so that I don't hurt her." He pushed the chair back further so that it hit the ground and Fred cried out in pain and fear. Her head hit the hard ground with a painful thwack. "I'm waiting." He looked at his other three captives. He put his foot on the edge of the chair again and pushed down so that the chair was on all four legs again. Tears of pain were leaking from Fred's eyes. His foot was in an uncomfortable position as it touched the inside of both her thighs. "Who are you people?"

"We're from another dimension." Gunn said

Wesley took his foot off Fred's chair. He turned to Gunn. "Go on."

"A vengeance demon sent our friend here and we came to save him."

"Who is this friend of yours?" Not Wesley asked

Gunn hesitated and Not Wesley backhanded Fred. Everyone flinched at the sight of poor Fred's abuse. "Wesley Wyndam-Pryce!" Gunn shouted quickly "That's our friend's name!"

"Fascinating," Not Wesley turned away, apparently deep in thought. "How intriguing,"

…

Wesley saw another familiar blond when they entered Angel's office. "Dt. Lockley?"

Kate Lockley looked up from the desk where she was reading a computer monitor and frowned at the beaten newcomer being dragged in by Buffy. "Who's this?"

Angel stared at Wesley angrily. "How do you know her?"

"I tried to tell you. I'm not who you think I am. I'm from an alternate dimension and-"

Xander's laughter cut him off. "Oh please, don't even try it."

"I'm telling the truth! I'm not from this dimension!"

Buffy and Angel shared amused looks. "Pretty desperate aren't you?" Buffy asked

"Is this the guy you were looking for?" Kate asked "The one who kidnapped that girl?"

"Yeah," Angel said "He's going to tell us where he stashed her."

"I didn't kidnap anybody! I just got here today!"

"Which just so happens to be the day that Cordelia was kidnapped." Xander said

"I would never hurt Cordelia!" Wesley insisted "She's my friend!"

Xander hit Wesley so hard that he wounded his hand. Of course Wesley's bloody lip and almost dislocated jaw hurt a bit more than Xander's scraped knuckles. "Shut your mouth."

As talking would be a painful prospect with the damage Xander had just inflicted to his face Wesley obeyed Xander's command. The phone chose that moment to ring. Kate picked up the phone. "Angel Investigations," She listened. "It's someone named Giles."

Angel took the phone. "Hey, we found- what?" They all waited while Angel listened to Giles for a long time. Finally Angel spoke. "Okay, I'll tell Buffy. No, I don't know either."

"What is it?" Buffy asked

"Cordelia's fine." Angel said "She never left Sunnydale."

"But," Xander said "Giles heard her on the phone. Willow traced the call to a payphone in Las Angeles and Giles swore he heard her say this scumbag's name. How can she be fine?"

"I don't know." Angel said "But he's positive that she never left Sunnydale."

"This doesn't make any sense." Buffy said

"Not to us." Xander said "But I bet this asshole knows what's going on." Xander stressed his allegation with a slap upside Wesley's head that made his preexisting head wound ache more.

"Then soon we'll know too." Buffy said "Do you have chains?" She asked Angel

"Of course," He said

"Working here is always exciting." Kate mumbled

"They're not for anything bad." Angel told her

"No, they're fun chains." Kate said sarcastically

"_Fun_ chains?" Xander asked

"Don't be a pervert." Buffy said "Help me get this guy downstairs."

Wesley felt Xander take one arm while Buffy tightened her grip on the other and the two forced Wesley down the stairs. Even if they did let him tell his side of the story he doubted they would believe him. They were certain that he was an evil bastard, and nothing he said was going to convince them otherwise. Wesley tried to think of any possible escape from this situation, but the more he turned it over in his head the more screwed he realized he was.

…

Fred squeezed her eyes shut. She tried to think about something besides the pain in the back of her head, her face, and her throat. She thought about Wesley. Not this evil Wesley that was thinking about what to do with them. She was thinking about the real Wesley and why the vengeance demon must have sent him here. When she had been at his apartment the night before he had told her he didn't know what kind of man he was anymore. If this dimension was the worst punishment the demon could create for him than that meant that his worst fear was that the monster Billy had created was the real him. Fred thought about how scary it must be to be afraid of yourself. There was no escaping it. You couldn't avoid your fear because it followed you wherever you went. It was inside of you. Fred had lived in constant fear for five years, but the things that she was afraid of had often been far away. She was still afraid of them, but there was some comfort in knowing they weren't there. Wesley had to live with his greatest fear, had to sleep in the same bed with it, share all of his meals with it. Fred tried to imagine how painful that must be and couldn't. Tears ran down her face. Poor Wesley, those days he had spent alone in his apartment while he tried to build up the courage to face them must have been so awful.

Fred felt a rough hand touch her cheek. She opened her eyes and saw the cruel ones of the person who wore her friend's face. He ran a finger through the moisture on her cheek and then licked the salty water off the tip of his finger. "What's the matter Winifred?" He asked

"I'm worried about my friend." Fred said

"Don't you think it would be wiser to be worried about yourself?" Not Wesley asked

Fred blinked away more tears. "What are you going to do to me?"

Not Wesley touched her hair. "I don't know. You have such a pretty face. I would hate to damage it." Not Wesley leaned forward and put his lips on hers. Fred tried to turn away, but he grabbed either side of her face and forced her to look ahead. His kiss was not gentle. It felt ugly and mean. It was an invasive kiss that actually kind of hurt. She tried to just wait it out and not react to the pain or the humiliation. She knew her friends could see her and she hated that.

"Get off of her!" Gunn roared

Fred wished he would shut up. He couldn't do anything and his shout just encouraged not Wesley while reminding Fred that her friends were present for her humiliation. When the kiss was over Fred realized her lips were bleeding. She began to cry some more. "What's wrong?"

Fred looked at the mean expression on not Wesley's face. "Nothing," She said bravely

"I know your game. You girls like to tease us. You brush up close, bat your eyes-"

Fred gasped. Wesley had said something very similar when under Billy's influence.

Not Wesley pressed down on her shoulders. "Be quiet. I'm talking. Where was I?"

"You were being a disgusting pig." Cordelia said "You were tormenting someone while she's tied up and can't stop you. You were being a pathetic-" Not Wesley got up and walked away from Fred over to Cordelia. He loomed over her threateningly and she stared defiantly.

"I'm a pathetic what?" Not Wesley asked

Cordelia met his gaze. "You're a pathetic little bitch."

Not Wesley raised a fist to strike her and she flinched, but it never fell. Wesley put his foot on the edge of her chair like he had Fred's, but pushed his foot further in, touching more of her thighs. He leaned in close to her. His mouth was only a millimeter away from her ear and she could taste his breath as he spoke. "I made a mistake with you last time. I was too hard on you and now you're all broken. I won't make the same mistake twice. I won't waste a second you."

"What are you talking about?" Cordelia asked

Not Wesley chuckled. He backed away from Cordelia. "I'd love to stay and chat girls, but I have a doppelgänger to find." He grinned at all of them in turn. "A doppelgänger and all these lovely ladies, you'd think it was my birthday." Not Wesley left the room and silence rushed in to fill the space where he had been. They were all too stunned to react to what had happened.

"Fred," Gunn said tentatively "Are you okay?"

Fred burst into racking sobs. "I hate this place! I want to find Wesley and go home!"

They heard a cracking sound and all eyes turned to Faith. She pulled a hand out of her bonds that was at an awkward angle and red from being rubbed raw against the rope. "Me too,"

"Wow," Gunn said

Faith undid her bonds and then got up. She started to untie Cordelia, who was the person closest to her. When Cordelia was free they both went over to their companions. Fred felt Cordelia's soft hands against her own, untying rope. When Fred was free she got to her feet so quickly she almost lost her balance. Faith caught her. "Be careful, we have to get to Angel."

Cordelia looked through a window. "It's past dusk."

"He probably thinks something happened to us." Fred said in a worried tone

"Something kind of did." Cordelia pointed out

Faith dragged a chair over to the window. She jumped onto the back of the chair and then up to the window ledge. She kicked the window out of the frame and then gestured for them to come over to her. "That chick is scary good." Gunn said as he went over to the window

"Emphasis on scary," Cordelia mumbled

Faith gestured to the chair. "Stand on that and take my hand. I'll pull you up."

Gunn gave her a skeptical look. "I'm kind of heavy."

"I'm kind of a slayer. Hurry up."

…

Angel was ready to jump for joy when he entered Caritas and saw Lorne on stage singing a Stevie Wonder tune. Angel waited impatiently for Lorne to finish and then exit the stage to a round of enthusiastic applause. Angel made his way over to Lorne and was surprised when Lorne spoke to him before Angel even got his question out. "He's not here." Lorne said

"Who's not here?" Angel asked

"The guy whose head you tried to take off earlier."

Angel tilted his head to the side. "What?"

"Oh!" Lorne got excited. "You're the real one!" Lorne ushered Angel over to a table and gestured for him to sit down. Angel did, very confused. Lorne sat down across from him.

"I'm the real what?" Angel asked

"You're the Angel from the true universe." Lorne said "I'll assume you're here to find your friend. He was supposed to be back a while ago. I'm starting to get worried."

"Wesley?" Angel asked "He was here?"

"Yep," Lorne said

"Well how do I find him?" Angel asked

"To find your friend you have to find yourself." Lorne said

Angel frowned. What kind of fortune cookie crap was that? Did he mean look within himself to what he knew about his friend and- Angel shook his head. "You mean find the version of myself in this dimension don't you?" Angel asked with embarrassment

"What did you think I meant?" Lorne asked

"Nothing, where would I be in this dimension?"

"I've heard of a vampire with a soul that works with an ex-cop in an office building taking out demons and vampires. My best guess it that's probably you in this dimension."

"An office…" Angel recalled his original headquarters. "I might know where that is."

"I'd get there fast. I don't think Wesley is late because he got caught up in a good book."

"Right, thanks for your help." Angel hurried toward the exit.

…

Gunn took Faith's hand. She pulled him up to the ledge. "Get them." She told him before she jumped through the window and landed outside on the dislodged glass, shattering it

Gunn pulled Fred up. He helped her position herself so that she was hanging from the ledge on the outside. Faith walked under Fred to catch her and then Fred let go. Gunn watched them to make sure Fred was okay. Faith caught Fred with ease and set her down gently on a patch of ground free of broken glass. Gunn then reached down for Cordelia. Cordy took his hand, but before he could pull her up not Wesley reappeared and ran over. Gunn pulled at Cordy, but he wasn't fast enough. Not Wesley put his arms around Cordelia's waist and yanked back so that Gunn had to let go or fall and break his neck. Gunn instinctually went with the option that didn't give him a broken neck. Cordelia screamed. "Let go of me you son of a bitch! Let go!"

Not Wesley threw her to the ground and kicked her hard in the gut. Cordelia curled into a ball as tears of pain ran down her face. He went to kick her again and she rolled over and kicked him in the back of his knee. He stumbled and almost fell. Cordelia scrambled to her feet while he regained his balance. She punched him in the face. While he backpedaled, surprised by her ability and willingness to fight back, she landed a spin kick to his kidney. Not Wesley fell to his knees and Cordelia kneed him in the face hard enough to bust his nose. Cordy ran over to the chair and took Gunn's hand again. "Damn girl," Gunn said as he pulled her up

They both made it through the window. The four of them ran toward the street. As they rounded the corner they were stopped by three men holding crossbows. Faith recognized them very well as the council wet works team that had tried to kill her a few times. "Great," She said

"I want to go on record as saying I hate this dimension." Gunn said

"Duly noted," The man in front said as he drew a tranquilizer gun and shot Gunn

…

For a moment Angel just stood outside the building that had once been his home before Vocah had destroyed it. He wondered what had been different in this dimension. Lorne had said that in this dimension Angel worked with an ex-cop. Could that be Kate? Angel wondered how on earth that had happened. Well there was only one way to find out. Angel headed for the office with an odd feeling of nervousness in his gut. What would it be like to meet himself? For a man who usually couldn't even use a mirror this was quite an opportunity. How would alternate Angel react to this meeting? At least real Angel could prepare. This was going to be a complete surprise for the other Angel. Angel opened the door to the office and went inside. There was nobody upstairs. Angel thought about calling out when he heard voices coming from downstairs.

"I'm not going to let you hurt any more people, not in my city." Angel shivered at the sound of his own voice. It was creepy. "Tell us why you're here and the pain will stop."

Why was he threatening someone? "I swear-" Was that Wesley?

Angel heard the familiar sound of a fist colliding with flesh. "I'm sick of your swears!"

Buffy? Angel ran down the stairs. What was Buffy doing here? Why was Buffy in L.A. helping Angel torture Wesley? How the hell did that make sense? Angel burst into his living room and was met with two crossbows pointed at him. They were held by Kate and Xander while Angel and Buffy just turned and stared. "Wow," Xander said "That's weird."

Angel saw his friend tied to a chair looking a little worse for wear. He didn't look as bad as he had after Faith had tortured him, but he still looked pretty bad. "Oh my God," Angel said

"Shape shifting demon?" Kate asked

Angel looked at her. "I'm not a demon Kate. Well, I am technically because vampires are demons, but I'm Angel. I'm from another dimension. What the hell is going on here?"

Angel from this dimension and Buffy shared a look. Xander and Kate kept their eyes and crossbows trained on the intruder. Wesley was looking at the ground and fighting to breathe through the pain of his cracked ribs. Finally the Angel native to this dimension spoke. "If you are me, prove it. Tell me something that only I would know, something that happened a while back."

Angel thought for a moment. "In this dimension did you ever tell anyone what she said when she opened the door and invited you in? Did you ever tell anyone her exact words?"

The other Angel seemed to pale even further than normal. "No,"

"Is that you Liam? Are you an angel come back to me like you promised?"

The other Angel's voice shook. "He's me."

"How is that possible?" Buffy asked

"Buffy this isn't the weirdest thing that has ever happened to you." Real Angel said

"How do we know you're not Angelus?" Xander asked

"Because you're not dead. Now back to my what the hell is going on here question."

"Just a little interrogation," Angel's reflection said

"Looks more like torture to me." Angel said

"So?" Buffy asked "This is Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, he deserves to be tortured."

"For what?" Angel demanded in an angry tone

"Totally Angelus," Xander said "I called it."

"You're joking right?" Buffy asked the real Angel "This guy is a murdering rapist who has tried to stake you more than once. Don't you remember what he did to Faith and Cordelia?"

"Look, I don't know what the story is in this dimension, but in my dimension Faith and Cordelia are fine- Well actually they are in this dimension now. But my point is that you've got the wrong guy. That's my friend and I'm not at all cool with you torturing him." Angel said

"I don't really know what's going on here." Kate said "But if what this… other Angel says is true, and there are a bunch of people from another dimension running around, shouldn't we make sure they are who we think they are before we, ya know- torture them for information?"

Buffy and the Angel reflection shared nervous glances. "So in your dimension this guy isn't evil?" Buffy asked "That doesn't make any sense. And he's also your friend?"

"That makes even less sense." The Angel reflection said

"I don't care, he is my friend. Now untie him." Angel demanded

"But how do you know this is your friend?" Kate asked reasonably

Angel took a moment to think. Lorne had said Wesley was with his other self, but somehow Angel didn't think these people would go for that. "Does he have a scar?"

"What?" Buffy asked

"In my dimension Wesley got shot in the gut. Did that happen here?"

Kate went over to the person tied to the chair and lifted his shirt to reveal a number of ugly darkening bruises. Under them was a scar from a gunshot Wesley had taken to the gut trying to defend a friend. Angel felt a flare of serious anger at the sight of his friend's beaten body and turned a menacing gaze on all of them. "What is wrong with you people?"

"Buffy I think this guy might have been telling the truth." Angel's reflection said

"You must be joking." Xander said "Since when does Wyndam-Pryce ever do that?"

"But this isn't the guy we know." Buffy said "This is someone from another dimension."

"Wesley Wyndam-Pryce would be evil in any dimension. There's no humanity in him."

"Maybe," Angel's reflection said "But maybe not. We can't punish a stranger for crimes somebody else committed. If this guy is from another dimension we have to let him go."

"It's more likely that you're evil in the other dimension than that this bastard is good."

"Xander," Buffy said "I think you're letting your feelings cloud your judgment."

"At least I have feelings! This is the guy who raped Cordelia and drove Faith insane in order to do the same to her! He's evil no matter what dimension he's from! How can you two even consider letting him go?! Some guy who looks like Angel comes in claiming to be from another dimension and you're ready to listen to whatever he says?! This is bullshit!"

The real Angel felt queasy. Was what Xander was saying really what had happened in this dimension? But then again, it made sense. It would explain why the vengeance demon had sent Wesley here instead of to some random hell. After what had happened with Billy this really must be Wesley's worst possible hell. Angel's heart, though it did not beat, ached for his poor friend sitting in the chair looking so broken. "Look," Angel said softly "I don't know what happened in this dimension. But in my dimension Wesley is my friend and he's a good man."

Xander scoffed. "Don't fall for this Buffy."

"Buffy," Real Angel said "You would never knowingly hurt an innocent person if there was a way to avoid it. That is not the person who did those terrible things. Please let him go."

Buffy sighed and turned to look at reflection Angel. "I think we have to."

Reflection Angel nodded. "I agree." Reflection Angel cut the ropes around Wesley's wrists and made no move to stop real Angel as he made his way over to his friend and helped him out of the chair. Angel saw fresh bruises overlaying the old ones on Wesley's face.

"Hey Angel," Wesley said "Nice to see you."

"I can't leave you alone for five seconds without you getting yourself hurt."

"This wasn't my idea." Wesley protested weakly

"Yeah, who said the W word?" Angel asked

"It was an accident."

Angel helped Wesley onto the couch. "So now what?" Kate asked

"I have to find the rest of my people." Angel said

"What do you mean?" Wesley asked through wheezing breaths

"Did you really think the others wouldn't come with me to rescue you?"

"How did you even get here?" Wesley asked

"Let's just say that right now there's a vengeance demon at the Hyperion hotel trapped in a binding circle hoping we make it back so the slayer doesn't cut her head off."

Buffy and the other Angel traded another look. "In the other dimension?" Buffy asked

"Yeah," The real Angel said

"Why did you split up?" Wesley asked

"The sun presented a problem. We were supposed to meet at the Hyperion at dusk."

"Wait a second." Wesley pressed a hand against wounded ribs. "The Giles in this dimension got a phone call from someone he thought was Cordelia. But this dimension's Cordelia couldn't have made the call. Cordy must have called him." Wesley looked at Buffy and she scowled with reflexive hatred. "Giles said he heard her say my name?" Wesley asked

"Yes," Buffy said

"Maybe Cordelia ran into this dimension's version of me."

"Well that's bad luck for your dimension's Cordelia." The other Angel said "Very bad,"


	5. In a Name

The three men with tranquilizer guns focused on the slayer and the muscular man while paying only periphery attention to Cordelia and Fred. Cordelia took advantage of this by taking Fred's hand and running as fast as she could. She heard Gunn hit the ground and saw Faith sway while trying to keep consciousness. She wanted to help them, but she knew she couldn't if she let herself be captured. The best thing she could do for them was get out of here and find Angel so that she could tell him where they were. Cordelia felt a tug at her hand and saw Fred begin to slouch over. A tranquilizer dart stuck out of her shoulder. Cordelia put Fred's arm over her own shoulders and pulled the woman along. "Come on Fred." She hissed "Don't quit on me, we have to get out of here." Cordelia refused to abandon Fred. Dragging Fred along decreased Cordelia's chances of escaping, but when she thought about the way Wesley's evil counterpart had looked at and treated them she knew she couldn't let Fred get caught. Faith was a slayer and could take care of herself. Gunn would be fine. But Fred was just Wesley's type and that worried Cordelia.

…

The six of them climbed the staircase to the office. This dimension's Angel led the way, followed by Kate, Buffy, Xander, and finally the real Angel supporting Wesley. Wesley wasn't complaining about his injuries, but Angel knew he was hurting. Every time Wesley stifled a whimper of pain Angel's fury toward his counterpart in this dimension was renewed and he wondered how he could ever allow a human being to be put through such suffering. "Our best bet is to try to find that payphone." Kate said "We can work our way out from there."

"We can take my car." This dimension's Angel said

"We're not taking him are we?" Xander asked, glaring accusingly at Wesley

"I think he needs a hospital." Real Angel said

"I'm fine." Wesley insisted "We have to find Cordelia and the others."

Xander scowled. "I don't like the idea of you anywhere near Cordelia."

"Maybe on the way to the payphone we can exchange information." Kate said

"Good idea," Buffy said "Let's go."

Shadow Angel got in the driver's seat of his car while Buffy sat next to him and Xander took the seat next to her. Angel helped Wesley into the back and then got in himself. Kate got in after him and soon they were on their way. "So," Reflection Angel said "How exactly did I end up being friends with Wesley Wyndam-Pryce in this alternate dimension? I'm confused."

Real Angel frowned. "How much here is different? Did you still go to hell?"

Shadow Angel frowned. "Yeah, Buffy sent me to hell. She had a good reason though."

"Yeah I know." Real Angel said "You came back feral and Buffy helped you recover?"

"Yes," Buffy said

"So the timeline is the same up to that point." Real Angel said

"What about Faith?" Wesley asked

"Don't say her name." Xander growled

"We're all just trying to get the facts straight." Real Angel said "Don't be a dick."

"I don't want to hear poor Faith's name coming out of the mouth of the asshole who ruined her life. Faith was in a bad place when she got to Sunnydale, but we were helping her find her way. Then this son of a bitch showed up and used hypnotizing crystals on her to make her more compliant that broke her mind down. He would have done that same thing to Buffy if she didn't have us watching out for her. Faith was a little pig-headed, but she didn't deserve to be treated like a puppet by some misogynistic creep. As if that wasn't bad enough he did all kinds of creepy sex stuff to her while she was hypnotized just because he could. He used the crystals on her so much she started to lose her mind. Even when she wasn't hypnotized she was nearly catatonic, just wandering from place to place, going where people led her. It happened gradually, but when we noticed what was happening we started trying to figure out the cause. That's when Cordelia showed up to school covered with cuts and bruises. She had been flirting with Wesley to show me how over me she was. When he tried to take it too far and she shut him down he-"

Xander couldn't finish. His face was red and his fists were clenched in fury. Angel felt like he was going to throw up. A look at Wesley's face showed he was equally disgusted by the story Xander had told them. Angel thought of the beautiful strong Cordelia Chase he knew being forced into something by a man with no regard for what she wanted. Then he realized that this was an old story. The story became even more repulsive as in his head Angel replaced the Cordelia he knew with the naïve high school girl he used to know. That Cordelia didn't have the fighting skills to defend herself. She was young, inexperienced, and didn't have any close friends or a loving family to help her through the trauma. "What did you do?" Angel whispered

"We told him to get lost." Buffy said "The council sent a team in to extract Faith, but we sent them packing as well. I quit the council and sent Travers a message that his people were no longer welcome anywhere near Sunnydale, ever, under any circumstances. Faith is in the hospital, one of us visits her every day. Cordelia goes to UC Sunnydale, she's been doing better since she got back together with Xander, but she still has a lot of issues to deal with."

Angel shook his head. "In my dimension none of that happened. In my dimension the worst thing Wes ever did in Sunnydale was-" Probably best not to bring up the kidnapping thing out of context, or at all. "Just general incompetence due to a lack of experience."

"That's a nice way to put it." Wesley said in a hollow voice

"How would you put it?" Buffy asked

"I was a ponce who didn't know what the bloody hell I was doing and should have stood back and let Rupert Giles handle things. The only thing I was good for was looking stuff up and when I tried to do more I made a mess of things. But I never hypnotized or raped anyone."

"Well gee," Xander said "If you didn't rape anyone you must be a saint." His voice dripped with venomous sarcasm. "For we all know any man who can resist the temptation to force himself on a woman is truly a great man. You're like Superman or something aren't you?"

"Shut up Xander." The real Angel said "He didn't say anything like that."

Sensing a diversion would be useful Buffy cut in. "Did your dimension have the mayor?"

"Yeah," Angel said "We beat him. I'm guessing you guys did too."

"Yes, and then when Buffy and I broke up I came to L.A." Angel's reflection said

"And then you met Doyle?" Angel asked

Angel's reflection flinched. "Yeah, is he… still alive in your dimension?"

The hope in his reflection's voice cut Angel. "No, I'm sorry. But he died a hero."

"I know. I was there." Angel's shadow said "So where does this guy come in?"

"I was just passing through." Wesley said "After the council fired me I started hunting demons freelance." The way Wesley was speaking without inflection troubled Angel. "I bungled a case with an empathy demon and Angel cleaned up my mess. After that I just kind of hung around until Angel felt sorry for me and gave me a job." Wesley looked at the foot well.

"That's not what happened." Angel protested "Not exactly."

Wesley shrugged. "Near enough,"

…

Faith opened eyelids that felt far too heavy and squinted until her vision cleared and showed her the face of Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. She looked down at the tight chains around her wrists and ankles and then shook her head. This wasn't Wesley. "Hello Faith. You must have been tired, you slept for a while. Are you feeling all rested now?" He grinned at her.

"Where are the others?" Faith asked

"It's rude to answer a question with a question. I don't tolerate rudeness."

Faith blinked. It was hard to focus on his face. Her preexisting weariness and the aftereffects of the drugs in her system were cooperating to make her miserable. "Okay,"

Wesley was kneeling in front of her while she was sitting down. "My father always told me that a woman is like a child. Useless, unless it can be taught respect." Faith tried to shift position, maybe stand up, but the chains were too tight. "What do you think of that Faith?"

"I think… that your father sounds like a bastard." Faith felt the world shift contrast

"He was." Wesley admitted "But it's rude to say that. What did I say about rudeness?"

Faith tried to remember. She wanted to go back to sleep. Everything was so fuzzy and her limbs were so heavy. She blinked. "Wesley is that you? What are you doing here?" She asked

Not Wesley was intrigued by her delirium. "Why wouldn't I be here?"

"Where is here?" She asked "Are you mad?"

"Mad about what?" Wesley asked

"I'm sorry for what I did. I wish I could make it up to you."

"You do? That's fascinating. Tell me more."

…

Cordelia was half dragging half carrying Fred, who had lost all consciousness. They were in a more crowded area now, but still not crowded enough that Cordelia didn't think the council goons might try to take them down. Cordy saw a taxi and ran over. She waved her arms frantically and then yanked the back door open. She lay Fred out on the seat and then got in next to her, panting with exhaustion and fear. Cordelia slammed the door shut and for a moment she just sat there. She put both hands on either side of her head and tried to calm her nerves as well as her breathing. The cabby stared at her. "Do you want to go somewhere lady?" He asked

Cordelia looked up at his perplexed face. He looked nervous. Well in a city like L.A. a woman getting into your cab with another woman who was knocked out and then just sitting there and having what looked like a panic attack was something to be nervous about. Now that she thought about it Cordelia realized that was off-putting in any city. "I'm sorry." She said

"So you don't want to go anywhere?" He asked

"No I do." She said

"You have the money right?" He asked suspiciously

She pulled some money out of her pocket. "I want to go to…"

He gave her an expectant look. "Yeah?"

Cordelia looked down at Fred. "The hospital I guess." She didn't think the council goons would go so far as to attack a hospital. There would be a payphone there and she could try to call… somebody. She didn't know who she would call, but she would think of somebody once she was there. Cordy didn't think Fred's condition was dire, but it wouldn't hurt to have her checked out by someone qualified to make that observation instead of an office manager.

"Is she all right? Do you want to call an ambulance?"

"She's fine. Just take us to the nearest hospital."

He shrugged. "Okay,"

…

Reflection Angel sniffed the payphone. "I don't smell any blood."

Wesley shivered. "That's something I suppose."

Real Angel looked around. It was late and almost everything was closed. "If… evil Wes did do something to Cordy and the others, and that's why they didn't show, how would he do it without attracting attention? It's dark now, but the phone call happened during the day and this looks like the kind of area that's crowded in the day. He would have to get them somewhere secluded without too much of an incident. A slayer and someone like Gunn wouldn't just-"

"A gun," Kate said "He probably had one. It's the great equalizer."

"He'd have to have a car." Buffy said

"A decent sized one if it fit five people." Kate said

Wesley pointed at a 24/7 gas station down the street. "I bet their cameras have a good view of the street. If he used this car to kidnap people I bet it had tinted windows. We could check the footage from right before and after the call was made for medium to large sized vehicles, probably black or dark blue, with tinted windows. Then we can run the plate numbers."

"How do you know the car has tinted windows?" Xander asked

"That's a good idea." Kate said "Come on, let's hope the cashier doesn't look too closely at my expired detective's identification." Kate headed toward the gas station.

A strawberry blond woman was reading a magazine when they came in. She looked up and gave Wesley's haggard appearance a nervous look. "Can I help you?" She asked

Kate flashed her invalid I.D. "I need to see your security tapes."

"What's this about?" The woman asked

"Kidnapping," Buffy said "The whole department's on it. We think we can find the poor little girl before her abductor dumps her corpse in the river- provided we get those tapes that is."

The woman jumped to her feet and ran to the back room. "Laying it on a little thick, don't you think?" Reflection Angel asked "Corpse in the river? Way to pile on the melodrama."

"It worked didn't it?" She retorted

The woman came back with the tapes. "We have a TV in the back if you need to see these right away. I hope you find that little girl. Gee, what is the world coming to these days?"

"Thanks," Kate said "We'll take you up on that offer."

…

Gunn pulled against the strong chains keeping him bound to the wall and then heard the clicking sound of a gun being cocked. He looked up and saw one of the men from the ally smiling at him like he was a birthday present. Gunn looked around. Except for the chains and the two of them this room in the abandoned warehouse was empty. "How are you?" Gunn asked

The man chuckled. He had an unpleasant face. "I'm great, you?"

"You know, been better." Gunn tugged at the chains. "Don't suppose you'd help a brother out and loosen these?" Gunn wasn't surprised when the man shook his head. "Yep,"

"Yep what?" The man asked

"I was just thinking about how well this fits with the trend of my day."

"Hm,"

"So what's your name?" Gunn asked

"Weatherby," He said "You?"

"Gunn,"

"Nice name,"

"Thanks, my parents gave it to me."

Weatherby chuckled. "You wouldn't be in such a good mood if you knew what Wesley Wyndam-Pryce had in store for you. He doesn't tend to leave male prisoners alive."

Gunn shrugged. "I'm not too worried." But that was a lie. He was panicking. Not for himself of course, for his friends. He was worried about Cordelia and Fred. He was even a little worried about Faith. He didn't like this Faith person, but he didn't want her to be raped or murdered by a psychopath. He wouldn't wish that on anyone. The idea that Cordelia or Fred might be tied up somewhere being allowed to live only so that their bodies could be treated like objects by someone who didn't see them as people made him feel sick and afraid. He wanted to find them and protect them. He wanted to kill the person who would even think of hurting them.

"Yes you are." Weatherby said "I know fear. I can see it in your eyes."

"Is that right?" Gunn asked

"You're terrified." Weatherby had a smug grin on his face, like nothing could make him happier than Gunn's terror. "It's the uncertainty. It helps to know what's going to happen next."

"So what's going to happen next?" Gunn asked

Weatherby just grinned. "Why would I spoil my fun?"

"Can you at least tell me what happened to my friends?"

"Nothing pleasant," Weatherby said "I bet Wesley's going to town on one of them right-"

"Shut up!" Gunn shouted "Stop saying that name!"

Weatherby raised an eyebrow. "What was that then?"

"I don't like it when you use that name."

"You're an odd one."

…

Faith felt a needle slide into her arm. She was aware of a vague sensation of concern in the back of her mind, but then it slipped away. "Faith?" A voice asked "Can you hear me?"

That voice was familiar. "Wesley?"

"You were apologizing Faith. What was that for?"

"Sorry for what I did to you." She mumbled

"Are you then? Tell me why."

Faith felt cold hands, cold hands covered in warm blood. "Sorry I hurt you."

"What did you do to me?" He sounded amused, but that thought slipped away too.

"I hit you. I cut you. I'm sorry Wesley."

"Tell me more. Where did this happen? Who was involved?" These questions were all so odd, but Faith couldn't focus on that for long. She couldn't focus on anything for long. The drugs were keeping her in a fuzzy state of mind. She knew they were affecting her, but she could only dwell on this knowledge for a second before it was gone. Then all that remained were the questions he had asked. She was supposed to answer him for some reason.

"Angel, Wolfram & Hart, hired me to kill him. You got in the way…"

…

Cordelia left the hospital room where Fred was resting and went out into the hall to a payphone close enough to the door to Fred's room for Cordelia to watch it. The only person Cordy could think of to call was the only person she knew had the same number in this dimension, the person she had spoken to before her abduction. She dialed Giles's number and then waited for him to pick up. "Hello," He sounded weary now, tired of all the odd calls today.

"It's me again, Cordelia."

"All right," He sounded aggravated "What the hell is going on?"

She took a deep breath. "This is going to sound a little odd, but-" Cordelia scanned the hall for anyone who might overhear her and have her admitted to the psych ward. "I'm from another dimension." She whispered "I'm not the Cordelia you know, but I need your help."

There was a brief pause. "That makes sense." Giles said without irony

"I forgot I'm talking to someone in Sunnydale." Cordelia said

"What do you need?" Giles asked

"I need to find the Angel from my dimension, who is also here."

"Are you still in L.A.?" Giles asked

"Yes,"

"I suggest you seek the help of this dimension's Angel. I can give you his number."

"That would be great." Cordelia said "Thanks so much."

"Not a problem, anything for a friend. Even if they are from another dimension."

Cordelia had a huge grin on her face as she took the number down. "Thanks again,"

"When we were on the phone earlier I heard you say a name." Giles said

"Oh yeah, long story. I ran into this dimension's Wesley. There was a kidnapping and people shot at us, it was a whole ordeal. I'm sure Angel can handle it though, no worries."

"What?!" Giles shouted "Are you all right?"

"I'm at the hospital, but I'm fine. I'm not hurt. My friend got knocked out with a tranquillizer dart and is getting checked out, but she'll be all right. Gunn and Faith didn't make it out, but they should both be able to hold on until Angel bursts in and saves them." Cordy said

"Cordelia! You are obviously unaware of how serious this is!"

"Calm down stuffy British man, Angel will save the day like he always does."

"Cordelia you just told me a slayer is being held captive by a depraved man with no qualms concerning the use of hypnotism. He could use her to destroy the city if he wanted!"

Cordelia's blood ran cold. "I think I need to call Angel now."

…

Angel hovered protectively over Wesley while the Englishman sat on a park bench, trying to conceal his obvious pain. "You need a hospital." Angel said, exasperated

Kate was a few feet away on the phone having an argument with an old friend from the police department about the meaning of the phrase 'last favor I'm going to do for you' while the Angel, Buffy, and Xander from this dimension stood in a huddle a little farther away having an intense conversation about something else. "I'm fine." Wesley said "We have to find the others."

"We will." Angel said "But I'm worried about you too." Angel saw his reflection answer a cell phone. "You look terrible. You sound even worse. I know you've been going through a-"

"Please Angel," Wesley begged "Don't do this."

"Wesl-"

"Hey!" Angel turned around and looked at his reflection. "Two of your friends just talked to Giles and are in the hospital. One of them is on the phone right now. Want to talk to her?"

Angel snatched the phone from his reflection. "Hello?!"

"What's up Angel? You sound stressed."

Angel closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the relief. "Cordelia,"

"The one and only, well in our dimension I am. You need to get your but over here now."

"I'll be right there. Wesley is with me by the way." Angel said

"The not evil one right?" Cordelia asked

"Yeah, and he's not in great shape. Are you all right? Who's with you?"

"Thank God. I'm fine and so is Fred. She got knocked out with a tranq gun, but she's resting and the doctors say she will be fine. You need to rescue Faith and Gunn so we can hightail it out of this crapsack dimension and never look back. How bad is Wes?" Cordy asked

"Let's just say that there was a case of mistaken identity." Out of the corner of his eye Angel saw Wesley flinch. "The important thing is that we'll all be together soon."

"Yeah, get here as fast as possible. I want to yell at a certain British dumbass."

"Go easy on him Cordy." Angel whispered

"Humph, just get here." Cordelia hung up.

Angel handed the phone back to his reflection. "We need to get to the hospital."

Kate walked over. "I have to go to the station to get the plate information."

"Take Xander." Shadow Angel said "I don't want anyone to go anywhere alone."

Kate nodded. "Come on," She waved down a cab and gestured for Xander to follow her.

"You just wanted to get rid of Xander." Buffy told her Angel

"Two birds, one stone. Ready to meet another Cordelia?"

"Let's go. The sooner our dimension is returned to normal the better."

Wesley considered telling Buffy her dimension had never been normal as it hadn't existed before he arrived, but then decided it wasn't worth the effort. He just let his Angel help him over to the car and thought about how glad he would be when this place no longer existed.

…

Fred's eyes fluttered open. "What?" She took in her surroundings. This was a hospital.

"You're awake." Cordelia said

Fred looked toward the voice and saw Cordelia sitting by her bed. "Are we home?"

Cordelia shook her head. "Sorry, still in the other dimension. I have good news though."

Fred sat up. She blinked a few times as she gathered her bearings. "Yes?"

"Angel found Wesley."

Fred's face broke out into a sunny grin. "That's fantastic!"

Cordelia smiled at Fred. "I was worried you wouldn't be quite so happy."

"What do you mean?" Fred asked

"They're not the same person Fred. Our Wes and the one that hurt us are completely different people. We can't blame Wesley for what happened. Although he's probably already blaming himself. We have to help him get through this and we can't if we hold him at fault."

"Did you really think I would blame him? The only thing our Wes and the monster that kidnapped us have in common is a name. And what's in a name? I know Wesley is a good man."

Cordelia gave Fred an even bigger smile. "Good, I'm glad we're on the same page."

…

"Faith," Faith blinked and then looked at Wesley.

"Hey, what's up?" That was a good question. What was going on?

"I need you to look at these crystals." Not Wesley said

Faith squinted at him. "What?" Something was wrong. She could feel it.

"Just look at the pretty crystals."


	6. Kids and Women

Wesley leaned against his door on the way to the hospital and thought. He could only imagine how furious Cordelia and Fred would be when they saw him. His stupid wish, though very much an accident, had hurt them. His double, the thing the vengeance demon had created to punish him, had hurt them. How could they not hate him? He could only hope that with time they might find a way to forgive him. But experience had taught him that such forgiveness was a very rare thing indeed. He closed his eyes and remembered one afternoon when he had seen his mother standing in the hall crying. She had a large black bruise over one eye. He had asked her, in his infuriatingly high pitched little kid voice, if she was all right. Of course she had been enraged by this question. For it turned out that her black eye was all young Wesley's fault and his question was a stupid one. Father was in a foul mood because Wesley had done so poorly on his homework, and that was why Father had hit Mother. Wesley's mother had grabbed his arm, her fingers digging into his tender little kid flesh, and dragged him to his room where she told him not to come out again until he had learned to stop making stupid mistakes. But Wesley never learned to stop making stupid mistakes. Today's events could attest to that. "Wesley?"

"Hm, what?" Wesley opened his eyes and looked over at Angel.

"What are you thinking about?"

Wesley shrugged. "Nothing really,"

"This isn't your fault."

Wesley smiled with no mirth or humor. "Yes it is Angel."

"No, this is my fault. I should have called you the second Faith showed up."

Wesley shrugged. "I made the wish."

"You didn't know there was a vengeance demon around."

Wesley flinched. "Yes I did."

Angel couldn't conceal his shock. "You… did?"

"She was at my apartment. That's why I came back to work. I needed to tell you guys we had a vengeance demon to deal with. When I saw Faith… I must have subconsciously known my wish would come true. I didn't mean to make that wish, but I think a part of me did."

Angel took a moment to process this. "It's still not your fault."

"We all have to be accountable for our actions Angel."

"There can be too much accounting, or accountability, or-"

Wesley cut him off. "I appreciate you trying to make me feel better, but can we maybe just continue this trip in silence? I have a headache." That wasn't even a lie thanks to Buffy.

"Sure,"

…

"No go,"

Not Wesley threw his crystals on the table that Collins, Weatherby, and Smith were sitting around engaged in various activities. Collins was cleaning his gun, Weatherby was sharpening his knife, and Smith was just twiddling his thumbs like a twit. "What's the problem?"

Not Wesley scowled at Collins for asking the question. "She has to trust me."

"You've got her drugged out of her mind." Smith said "She doesn't trust you?"

"I guess she just isn't trusting by nature." Collins said

"I'll crack her." Not Wesley said "How's the darkie?" Not Wesley sat down at the table with his colleagues. He pressed his fingertips together and looked through the pyramid, thinking.

Weatherby shrugged. "He didn't say much."

"He could be useful." Not Wesley said in a distracted tone

"We have the slayer." Smith said "We should just take her back to the council."

"She's not the slayer." Not Wesley growled

"How do you figure that?" Collins asked

"They're from another dimension. She's the slayer for another world."

"So what?" Weatherby asked "Same difference."

"It's not the same." Not Wesley snapped "Anyway, once I get her to trust me and put her under the influence I can use her to recapture the others and find this other me."

"And what exactly do you plan to do once you find this other you?" Collins asked

Not Wesley shrugged. "Just talk to him." He was still staring through his fingers.

Weatherby shook his head. "Sometimes you're odd."

"Well sometimes you're an imbecile." Not Wesley said "It's just something I've learned to accept about you." Weatherby scowled while Collins and Smith laughed. "Go talk to him."

"Who?" Weatherby asked angrily

Not Wesley finally looked away from his hands. He glared at Weatherby. "The colored you moron! God, do I have to spell everything out for you? Go interrogate him!"

"He wants to know about the women." Weatherby said "Should I use that?"

"Yeah, tell him if he doesn't cooperate we'll cut the small one into pieces."

"We don't have that one." Weatherby said

"Leave that part out." Not Wesley said in a derisive tone

…

Cordelia turned around at the sound of the door opening and saw Angel. She squealed with delight and threw herself at him. She hugged him tight. "I am so glad you're here."

"Um Cordelia," Cordy looked over Angel's shoulder to see Angel standing next to a very battered Wesley. Angel gave her an awkward wave. "That's the other one." He said

"Oh," Cordelia released Angel's shadow. "My bad," She ran to hug her Angel. Then she turned to Wesley. She reached out and touched a bruise on his face. "My poor baby,"

Wesley shifted uncomfortably. "I'm fine. How's Fred?"

Fred got out of bed and walked over to them. "Hey Wes,"

Wesley gasped upon seeing her. "What happened to you?"

Fred rubbed the red handprint on her neck. "Nothing really,"

Angel wished he could say something to Wesley concerning the guilt that weighed his shoulders down and saturated his expression. Instead he went for the distraction. "Cordy could you lead us back to where Gunn and Faith are?" This got Wesley's attention away from Fred.

"Yes," Cordelia said

"We should go then." Wesley said

"Like hell," Cordelia said "You're staying here."

"I most certainly am not." Wesley said "I'm responsible for all of this and-"

"No you're not." Fred said in an angry tone "That Faith person is."

Shadow Angel and Buffy bristled at this. "Come again?" Buffy asked

"Not the time," Angel said "No offense Wes, but in your condition you won't be much help in a fight. Stay here, get patched up, and look after Fred. We'll be right back."

"I can't let you run off and risk your lives while I stay here where it's safe." Wesley said

"You can and you will." Cordelia said "This isn't a discussion."

Wesley wanted to point out that he was the boss and they couldn't order him around, but who was he kidding? They could order him around whenever they wanted. Wesley sighed, a sound so defeated it made Fred's heart ache. "Fine, just please be careful. Please be safe."

Cordelia hugged him as gentle as she could. "We'll be right back. Don't worry."

…

Faith watched Wesley sit down cross-legged across from her. "Let's talk."

She tried to focus on him, but it was impossible. "What about?"

"How about you?"

Blink, blink, why was everything so blurry? "What about me?"

"Tell me about your childhood."

Faith's laugh was bitter. "You sound like my therapist."

"You have a therapist?"

"In prison."

"I see. He asked you about your childhood?"

Faith nodded, but it hurt her head so she stopped. "Asked me about my mom."

"What about your father?"

"Never knew him."

"Lucky girl." Not Wesley said

…

"Wesley?"

Wesley looked up from the doctor wrapping a bandage around his ribs and blushed when he saw Fred standing in the doorway. He felt very exposed with no shirt on. "Hey Fred."

She walked closer to him. "Are you okay?"

"Sure," He lied "I'm fine."

"Do you know you have sad eyes?"

Wesley started at this. "Don't move." The doctor chastised him

"I uh… didn't know that."

"I didn't either at first. Maybe it's because of your glasses. They hide your eyes, but when I look at just the right angle I see how sad they are. Why are you so sad? I don't mean right now, because someone just beat the crap out of you and all that other stuff, but… in general."

Wesley blushed again and looked away. "I- I don't know what you're talking about."

"You don't have to tell me." Fred said "I just thought- maybe… You would want to."

The doctor straightened. "There we go." She said "The nurse will be in to take your vitals in a few minutes, don't go anywhere." The doctor left, unfazed by the conversation going on.

Fred walked even closer to Wesley. "But you don't have to. It's okay." She sat down next to him on the examination table. "We could talk about something else, anything really."

Wesley stared at the floor, refusing to look at her. "I'm very sorry." He said

"That you don't want to talk to me?" Fred asked

Wesley shook his head. "No, that I… That I hurt you."

"Wesley you didn't hurt me." Fred said

"I know you think that, but the truth is… The truth is that you shouldn't be so nice to me because I'm not the person you think I am. I'm not a good person Fred. I am responsible for what happened to you. I think about… you. That's probably why he attacked you." Wesley said

"I don't get it." Fred said

Wesley sighed. He turned and met her gaze. His watery blue eyes locked with her soft brown ones. "You got hurt because I like you, not as a friend. I think about you, so you should probably avoid me. You're such a nice person, and people take advantage of things like that."

Fred tilted her head to the side. "Are you saying you like me, like romantically?"

Wesley blushed again. He tore his eyes away from hers. "Yeah,"

He didn't know what he expected. Maybe a stammering excuse to leave the room, a muffled expression of disgust, a firm rejection, but not the soft hand that laid on his shoulder and a warm voice. "Why didn't you just tell me that? I mean… How long have you liked me?"

Wesley turned to look at her again. She didn't look disgusted or angry. That had been what he expected, what he wanted. He had wanted her to know the truth so he wouldn't feel like a deceiver anymore. He had wanted her to reject him so he didn't have to entertain any more fantasies that someone like her could ever be interested in him. But she was looking at him with a soft expression he didn't understand. "You're not mad." He said "Why aren't you mad?"

"Why would I be mad? That doesn't even make sense."

"I'm sure the last thing you need after everything you've been through is to deal with the affections of someone like me. You have enough on your plate without me making it worse."

Fred squinted at him and then reached out to touch his forehead. "Huh,"

"Um, what are you doing?" Wesley asked

"I'm making sure you don't have a fever. That would explain all the crazy talk."

"I don't have a fever." Wesley said

Fred removed her hand. "Nope, so where's all the crazy coming from?"

Wesley shifted uncomfortably. "I know someone like you-"

"Someone like me?" Fred asked "What's that?"

"Someone brave, clever, resourceful, strong, beautiful-"

Fred leaned forward and cut him off with a kiss. For a moment Wesley just sat there, stunned, unable to process what was happening. Was this a dream? Had he been beaten insensate and was now dreaming about the woman of his dreams kissing him? Wesley couldn't even react to the kiss. His mouth was just slightly open because he had been talking and Fred was kissing his unmoving lips. So it wasn't a very good or very long kiss. "What was that?" Wesley asked

Fred shrugged. "Seemed like the thing to do."

"Um, why?"

Fred smiled at him. It was the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen. "I was just wondering what it would be like to kiss you. Then you were embarrassing me with that long list of my supposed virtues and I wanted you to stop talking. So I thought, hey, I should kiss Wesley."

Wesley stared at her. "But… What about what happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"What about what I did? What about what my doppelgänger did?"

"Oh Wesley," She reached out and brushed his hair. When her soft fingers touched his skin he shivered. "Don't you think that you deserve for something good to happen to you?"

Wesley shook his head. "Not really,"

"Why not? You help people."

"So did my father."

…

"I never thought of myself as particularly lucky." Faith said

"Me neither,"

"No, you're very unlucky." Faith told Not Wesley

He chuckled. "Yes I am. Tell me about your bad luck."

Faith closed her eyes. "My head hurts. Tell me about yours."

Not Wesley considered this. "Have you ever been blind?"

…

"I don't understand." Fred said "What does your father have to do with anything?"

"He was a watcher. He helped a lot of people. But…"

"But what?" Fred couldn't see where this was headed.

"What I did, when Billy infected me, that wasn't Billy. Whatever that thing was, Billy set it free but it was already inside me. I've been afraid of it my whole life. I never wanted to be that kind of person. I never wanted to be that kind of man. I thought I could control my fate but…"

Fred remembered standing in his doorway. She remembered his lost expression. _'I don't know what kind of man I am anymore.'_ "Why would you be afraid of that your whole life?"

He squirmed uncomfortably, like a criminal being cross-examined, or a child with bits of forbidden candy stuck to his fingers. "It's just something I've always had a reason to fear."

"Why?"

"Growing up, in my home, there was a system. You could pick on anyone you were bigger than. I was the smallest one there. So everyone picked on me. But I promised myself that when I got older, when I was big enough to hurt people, I wouldn't. I didn't want to be like my parents were. I didn't want to make anyone feel the way I had. I didn't want to be a bully."

Fred stared at Wesley like she was seeing him for the first time. "You're not a bully."

"But here I am. Something was different here. Here I became the thing that I'm afraid of, and that means that it could have happened in the real world, but for the right circumstances."

Fred shook her head. "No, you're who you are because of the choices you made."

…

"Blind?"

"Unable to see," Not Wesley said "It's fascinating. To be completely blind. You are as weak and as vulnerable as you can ever be. The world goes on around you, able to effect you, but you cannot react. You don't know what's happening. It's true terror. It's true despair."

Faith had been in the dark before, but never blind. If she couldn't see her other senses compensated for the lost sight. "No, I've never been blind. Have you?" She asked not Wesley

"Indeed I have. When I was a kid my father used to lock me away in a cupboard under the staircase. There was no light and very little sound. The only smell was the scent of mildew and the only sensations were of moisture warped wood. All I could feel was hunger from my empty stomach and pain from wherever my father had hit me. I was completely blind."

"Oh," Faith made a soft mewling sound. "That's terrible." Her head lolled to the side and not Wesley knew she was still unaware as to who she was really talking to. "Why'd he do that?"

"I was a bad kid."

Faith actually gave that a weak smile. "Me too, I was a rotten little girl."

"You were?" Not Wesley sounded delighted

"One of my mom's boyfriends put my hand on the hot stovetop one time and then when she came home he told her that I had touched it even though he told me not to and she slapped me upside the head for being obstinate. She told me I was a rotten little girl, a bad dirty girl."

Not Wesley shrugged. "Well, all women are dirty. It's not like you're special."

"I'm special." Faith said "I'm the slayer."

"No, you're all the same. Kids and women, you're all weak, and you're all dirty."

Faith giggled. "Were you a dirty little boy?"

"I was very nasty." Not Wesley promised

"I don't think so. I think you're lying."

…

"I want to believe that." Wesley said "I truly do. But I can't. This dimension proves that the circumstances exist where I could have turned out just like my father. Something happened here that didn't happen in our dimension, or vice versa, but regardless there were changes that could have resulted in the version of me that hurt you. Maybe those changes could still happen."

"No." Fred said firmly "That is not true."

"How can you know that?" Wesley stared into the warm earth that was her eyes.

Fred looked into the oceans that were his. His eyes were pleading with her, begging for a way to not be the monster he thought he was. How could she explain to him that his desperation to be kind and good was a part of what made him good? How could she make him believe that his concern for the welfare of others, that his empathy, were in and of themselves admirable traits that didn't need anything to accent them? Was there a way to show him that the monster he was afraid of was like the boogey man, an external threat, not an internal one? Was there a way to make him believe that being victimized did not predispose him to becoming a victimizer?

…

Faith's eyes were still dull. She still didn't know what was happening. "Oh?"

"I bet you were a nice kid. I bet nobody ever loved you and that made you think you were the problem. But I bet you weren't. I bet they broke you down. I would bet on that Wesley."

Not Wesley wanted to hit her hard enough to make the skin on the inside of her cheek split against her hard teeth. He wanted to see blood run down her lips. But to do so would risk giving her the clarity she needed to see through the drugs and ruin his plan. "You're wrong."

"Hm," Her eyes shut, but she was still listening.

"It's true that I was never loved. I was blessed that way. Love is a weakness that can be exploited and is found only in those pathetic enough to seek comfort in its opiate effects rather than facing life like a man. But I am a man Faith. Of that I can assure you my dear." He said

Faith squinted at him. "No you're not."

Before he could reign in his temper not Wesley punched her in the face. Her head snapped to one side and her eyelids shot up. She looked at him with total presence of mind and smiled at him. "I bet you tell yourself stories, tell yourself you're better than love, and that you're above the other pathetic mortals. But you're not. You're as breakable as any of us."

Not Wesley took her arm and punctured her with another needle. He jabbed the plunger and watched her eyes roll back in her head and her body slump against the wall. Her breathing was shallow and her pulse slow. Not Wesley grabbed his jacket and left the room with obvious anger rolling off of him in waves. He stomped past Collins and Smith. "I'm going out."

"What do you want us to do with the prisoners?" Smith asked

"Keep them alive." Not Wesley slammed the door on his way out.

"He's in a foul mood." Smith said

"I wonder what it would be like to have a doppelgänger." Collins said

"Be like having an identical twin." Smith said

"Good point," They both leaned back in their chairs, bored.

…

Gunn and Weatherby stared at each other. "So tell me about this other Wesley."

Gunn scowled. He wanted to tell this man to go to hell, but he wouldn't risk having his foul attitude taken out on his friends. "He's a good friend, took a bullet for me." Gunn said

Weatherby laughed. "You're yanking my chain."

"It's true." Gunn said "I wouldn't say it if it weren't."

"I guess there'd be no reason for you to. Still, I can't quite wrap my head around it."

"Why not?" Gunn asked

"Wesley is a spineless creep, he always has been. Even in school he was a little twerp and the only reason anybody takes him seriously now is that he's a dangerous twerp. I was in my last year at the academy when he started. He was a short skinny little kid that everybody, I mean everybody, picked on. Even the girls picked on him. It was hilarious. I wasn't there when this next part happened, but everyone knows the story. He put a hex on some kids and then beat the crap out of this girl that was always giving him a hard time. After that he was different."

Gunn shivered. "What caused the change?"

"I don't know. You'd have to ask him."

…

Wesley started to get up. "The doctor said not to leave." Fred reminded him

He settled back down, his shoulders sagging and back hunched. "Right,"

"Wesley I don't care who you could have been. I care who you are. I can tell you for a fact that a person like me could for sure fall for a person like you." Fred tentatively put her hand on top of his. He slowly turned his head and met her eyes again. Fred felt her mouth go dry and her pupils dilated. Fred leaned forward. Wesley just stared at her, too stunned to react in a positive or negative way. She stopped her lips a centimeter from his. "I know you. You hide your feelings where you think we can't see, lock your heart away where you think it can't hurt you."

"It's not myself I worry about hurting."

"I know you want to kiss me. If you're so dangerous, why haven't you just done it?"

"I…"

Fred put her lips on his again. "I'm not afraid of you. You don't have to be afraid of me either, I won't hurt you. I'd treat your heart like something precious, because it is."

Wesley found himself kissing her back. "I believe you."

"I'm pretty smart, I usually know what I'm talking about."

They heard dark laughter coming from the doorway. A man who looked a lot like the man Fred was kissing stood there. "Well isn't this just adorable." Not Wesley leered at Wesley.

Wesley's face lost all color. "Oh my God."

"A little disorienting isn't it? Kind of like looking in a mirror." Not Wesley said

Fred jumped to her feet as not Wesley pulled out a gun. Fred froze. "I have a few questions to ask you Wesley." Not Wesley said "You and I are going to have a conversation."

"Right, I'm sure we can learn a lot from each other." Wesley said in a placating voice

"You're quite the little coward aren't you?" Not Wesley asked "You're almost like a woman, all shy and coy. I was ready to throw up listening to you let her seduce you. You must have had such a different life. I bet you were coddled from the moment you were born."

"We can talk." Wesley said "But let her go."

"Why would I do that?" Not Wesley pointed the gun at her. "She's useful."

"I'll cooperate, you don't need her."

"No," Not Wesley grinned. "But I want her."

…

Angel's reflection pulled up to the building. "Cordy wait here." Real Angel said

"Yeah, so the bad guy can sneak up on me and kidnap me, great idea. Besides, I didn't go through all that combat training with you because I find your dark creepy basement so homey."

Shadow Angel and Buffy were staring at Cordelia. "You're nothing like her." Buffy said

"Who?" Cordy asked

"Cordelia, you're so… different."

"Same to you, the Buffy I know doesn't torture people." Cordelia said "But soon my friends and I will be out of this dimension and we won't have to worry about each other."

Buffy frowned as Cordelia grabbed a crossbow and headed for the building entrance, she looked over at the real Angel. "Are you completely different in the other world too?" She asked

Angel shrugged. "I don't know."

"You trained Cordelia in combat?"

Angel nodded. "She works with me; her, Wes, Fred, and Gunn. We all work together."

Buffy shook her head. "Is it… more than that?"

Angel frowned. "She's my friend."

"I don't have friends." Reflection Angel said

"Well you do in another world. Let's go rescue them so you can meet them."


	7. Morning After

Wesley positioned himself between Fred and the gun. "This doesn't have to get ugly."

Not Wesley chuckled. "Of course it does. It did the moment you came here."

"We just want to go back home." Fred said "Then we'll be out of your hair."

"You'll exist though." Not Wesley stared at Wesley. "I'll know you do."

"No you won't." Wesley said

"How's that then?"

Wesley prayed he wasn't making a huge mistake. "This is a shadow dimension."

"A byproduct of magic?" Not Wesley asked

"Wish magic," Wesley confirmed

"Powerful, but not powerful enough to change reality." Not Wesley said "So this is just an offshoot of a real dimension, your dimension. When you leave, it will disappear."

Wesley nodded. "So there's no point in killing us."

Not Wesley chuckled. "There was never a point Wesley. But when you showed up I had to know if it was true. I could have been different, I could have been a weak gutless coward."

"Wesley has guts!" Fred protested "Lots of guts, more guts than you!"

"Fred," Wesley said softly

"She loves you. How is that?" Not Wesley asked "How could anybody love you?"

"I don't know." Wesley said "Maybe there isn't ever a reason."

Not Wesley chuckled again. Each time he did his laughter grew more disturbing and Fred's blood got a little colder. "That would make sense wouldn't it? But how could you have friends, people that care about you? How could a little weasel like you make a good impression on anybody? People look at you and despise you instantly. I learned to use that you know."

"People didn't dislike you because of a prejudice." Wesley said "They disliked you because you're a twerp. But somehow you became something worse, why?" He asked

Again Wesley's doppelgänger chuckled in his ever creepier way. "There are two types of people in this world Wesley. There are those getting the beatings and those doling them out."

Wesley looked down at the bandage around his ribs. "You could have helped people."

"People don't deserve to be helped. Nobody ever helped me."

"Me either," Wesley said "But I never raped anybody."

Not Wesley rolled his eyes. "They wanted it, they all do. They want to make you jump through all these hoops though. Who has time for that? I guess you could go for that shy thing you're trying to pull off, but frankly I find it embarrassing. If you want the girl just grab her and put it to her. She'll thank you later. This one has been practically begging you. Help her out."

"You're a pig." Wesley said

Not Wesley shrugged. "At least I'm not a prude."

"Respecting someone is not the same thing as being a prude." Wesley protested

"God, you really are a woman. Do you have ovaries? Is the difference in the dimensions some weird defect you were born with that dumps estrogen in your system? I want to know."

"The difference is that he's a good man." Fred said "Not a monster like you."

"I'm not a monster." Not Wesley said "I've seen enough to know."

"You're worse than that." Wesley said "You're worse than any of the scaly green things I ever fought because you had a choice. You know better than most people how it feels to be hurt and unable to stop people from hurting you. You understand pain, that's why you were always so afraid of it. Why would you inflict it on others? How can you not imagine their pain?"

More creepy laughter filled the room. "I do imagine it. I love it. It's payback."

"Payback for what?"

"For not helping me, for letting me suffer. Now they get to suffer as well."

"You can't blame others for what happened to you. You never even told anyone."

Not Wesley shook his head. "Maybe you didn't. I did."

This stunned Wesley so much that for a moment he was speechless. "Really?"

"Did your dimension have Rose?"

Now it was Wesley's turn to laugh. It wasn't that creepy laugh, it was a laugh of pure disbelief, humorous incredulity. "You didn't tell Rose." Wesley said firmly "You wouldn't."

"Who's Rose?" Fred asked

…

Angel didn't make a sound as he made his way down the hall. He heard voices and lifted a hand toward the others, telling them to stop. Gunn's familiar voice drifted down the hall into Angel's ears. "I don't know where my Wesley is. We came here to find him."

Angel pointed toward a door and headed for it. "I'm going to need more than that if you want to incur some of my boss's good will. Where would he go? You said he's your friend."

Angel pushed the door open. Weatherby turned around and pointed a gun at Angel, which Angel elected to ignore. Angel ran at Weatherby. The gun went off and a bullet entered Angel's shoulder right before the same shoulder collided with Weatherby and sent the two of them to the ground in a heap. Angel shoved the gun away and then hauled Weatherby to his feet. The man struggled, but Angel easily confiscated his keys and tossed them to Cordy. Cordy unlocked the chains restricting Gunn and then helped him to his feet. "Where's Faith?" Angel demanded

"Go to hell." Weatherby said

The other Angel and Buffy also entered the room. "You guys are good at torture."

Buffy glared at the real Angel. "We don't have time. Lock him up where he had your friend and we'll search the building. If she's not here then we can torture him."

Angel started to put the chains on Weatherby. "Are you all right?" Cordy asked Gunn

"I thought you were…" Gunn looked confused.

"Fred and I got away while they were focused on subduing you." Cordelia explained

"Lying son of a bitch." Gunn mumbled "So Fred's fine?"

"Yeah, she's at the hospital with Wesley."

"You found Wesley!" Gunn was ecstatic "Is he all right?"

"He's alive." Cordelia gave Buffy a dirty look. "We'll talk about it later."

Angel finished locking up Weatherby. "All right, now-"

Angel hit the ground as a body collided with him. Gunn had thrown himself at Angel and now they were both lying right under a wall with an arrow embedded in it. They heard a sound very familiar to Angel and he saw another arrow, but this one was on top of a pile of dust.

…

Not Wesley answered Fred's question. "She was the school bully for my year."

"The bully?"

"She would steal people's things." Wesley said "Trick people into rooms or sheds where she locked them up overnight. She would torment you psychologically and if you really pissed her off she would hit you. No one would hit her back. She was tougher than all the girls and half the boys. The boys that could defend themselves knew that any strike against her would come back against them way worse. So she could do whatever she wanted. She was a vicious girl."

"Her folks liked to use her for a punching bag." Not Wesley said "Just like my folks did to me. Rose had an outlet for her frustration, I did not. Father taught me to be a cruel vicious bastard, but Rose taught me that it was my only option. She showed me that my options were to be a victim my whole life or to start fighting back. The best defense is a good offense, if you're always on the attack no one can get to you. That little bitch did me a huge favor."

"I don't get it." Wesley said

"Of course you don't. You just let yourself get picked on like I used to. One day some boys were shoving me around and when they were done with me Rose came along. She picked up my glasses like she was going to hand them to me. Instead she snapped them in half, dropped them to the ground, and stepped on the lenses. She laughed at me, told me that I was never going to amount to anything. She told me I would always be a chew toy for more powerful people."

"I remember that." Wesley said "I told her she was wrong. I told her that one day I would be a watcher and I would help people. People would like me because I helped them."

"That's not what I said." Not Wesley said

"What did you say?" Wesley asked

"I socked her in the jaw. Normally she would have beat me good for that, but as it turned out this all happened right after break. She was still recovering from daddy's displeasure. I often was set back by the ire of an abusive father, but for once it worked to my advantage."

"You beat up a girl?" Wesley asked "One that you could only hurt because someone had already started the job for you? How does that make you a man? That's pathetic."

"She didn't think so." Not Wesley said "Rosie was mighty impressed with my courage."

…

Buffy stared in horror. "Angel!" While the shock of seeing the man she loved reduced to a pile of dust kept her rooted to the spot, Collins and Smith came in with reloaded crossbows and aimed them at Buffy and the remaining Angel. Buffy shook with fury. Angel couldn't believe that his reflection was dead. It made him feel very mortal. Gunn from the ground, and Cordelia from where she was standing a few feet away, shared looks of disbelief. "Angel," Buffy muttered

"Now, now, slayer," Collins said in a soothing voice "Just put your hands in the air and nobody else has to get hurt." Buffy stared at him. "Nice and easy dear, nice and easy."

Buffy kicked the crossbow out of Collins's hands and punched him in the face with a single move. Smith fired his crossbow at Angel. Angel dove out of the way. The vampire got to his feet and then shoved Cordy and Gunn behind him. Buffy sent Collins flying down the hall and then while Smith was reloading the crossbow she dealt him a decisive blow to the head.

"Nice one Buffy," Angel said in a shaking voice "Now our only threat is-"

Buffy picked up Smith's bow and then aimed it at Angel. "You, you caused this."

"Another psychotic slayer," Cordelia finished Angel's statement "Of course,"

…

"I was a good little boy for so long. I obeyed all the rules, finished all of my homework on time, was never late for curfew. But I was only ever punished for my virtues. Yet the second that I lost it and beat up Rose something changed. She told me she was impressed with me, that no one had ever had the guts to take her on before. She kissed me. I'm not talking about whatever the hell it is you were just doing with the southern belle over there, I mean a real kiss, with fire and passion. She wanted me. She wanted a real man and I had just proved myself one."

Wesley could picture the scene as his double described it. "You took advantage of a physically weak girl who was trying to regain a semblance of control in a situation where she had lost control. If she was actually attracted to you at all it's probably because you reminded her of her father, who was also a control freak and got his fix beating up girls like you just had."

Not Wesley snickered. "Do you think I care about your psychological nonsense?"

"What do you care about?" Fred whispered

Not Wesley looked at her. He shrugged. "Myself mostly,"

"That sounds so lonely." She said "You must be so unhappy."

"That's my destiny." Not Wesley said "It's my fate to be unhappy. Your boyfriend knows it's true." Not Wesley gestured to Wesley with the gun. "He knows his life is misery."

"No," Fred said "Wesley has friends, and a good job, and-"

"All of which I find surprising," Not Wesley said "But none of which make him happy."

Fred looked at Wesley's face. She couldn't read his expression. "Is that true?"

…

"Buffy," Angel said in a low calming voice "We have to help Faith."

"Angel is dead." She said "You killed him. You brought us here."

"Buffy I'm sorry that the Angel you know is dead, but killing me won't help."

"It's not like killing one will bring the other back." Cordelia chimed in

"Why should you get to live when my Angel is dead?" Buffy asked "He isn't supposed to be dead. You came to our dimension and brought all of your problems here. You made us suffer for your stupid mistakes. You should have to pay for that. You should die for that."

"Buffy you don't want to kill me." Angel said

"I did it once, I can do it again."

…

Wesley stared at the reflection. "We're so different." He said "So very different."

"And yet the same," Wesley's Doppelgänger said "That's what scares you. If what you said is true, and I believe it is, I am only a representation of certain parts of you. You might be very different from me, but I am the same as you. There is nothing in me that is not also in you."

"That's a lie." Fred said

Not Wesley ignored her. "You have extra bits here and there, but nothing can get rid of what is evil inside of you. Nothing can bury your depravity so deep that it will never come out."

"He's not depraved." Fred said "You just want to think that so you feel less twisted."

Not Wesley sighed. "How do you put up with that?" Not Wesley aimed his gun and even though Wesley was standing in front of Fred not Wesley managed to hit her knee. Wesley caught Fred as she screamed in pain. Not Wesley giggled while the real one panicked. "Good stuff,"

"Fred! Fred! Oh my God!" Wesley helped her onto the examination table. She stared in horror at the blood coming out of her knee like a perverse geyser. "I'll go get a doctor!"

Wesley turned to the door and saw not Wesley's gun pointed at his face. "Uh, no."

It had almost been as if his panic had caused Wesley to forget everything going on but Fred's injury. Now the reality of the situation crashed back into his head. "You,"

"Me?" Not Wesley asked "What about me?" He had a huge grin on his face.

"What do you want? Just tell me."

"Wesley I'm you. I want all the same things you want. I just go about getting them in different ways. But we've always had the same end goal. In your heart you know this to be true."

Wesley stared at the blue eyes that were genetically the same as his, although they looked nothing like his eyes. He realized his doppelgänger was right. "Why do you need me then?"

"You know why." Not Wesley said "You're the key. You're the real one."

Fred clutched her knee, gasping in pain. "What's going on? What is he talking about?"

"Ever since you were a kid you only ever wanted one thing. But you have always been too much of a coward to take what you want. I guess I got a piece of that as well. For the only thing I have ever been afraid to take is the thing I most want, the thing you most want."

"Wesley," Fred moaned "What is he saying?"

"I'm not afraid anymore." Wesley said

Wesley and his doppelgänger locked eyes. "How can I be sure of that?" He asked

"You know me better than anyone. I'm not lying. Let me get a doctor for her and we can leave together. I'll give you what it is we've always wanted. I won't back out." Wesley promised

Not Wesley pointed the gun at Wesley's head. "I won't let you back out."

"So we have a deal then?" Wesley asked

"Yes,"

…

"Buffy," Angel said "In my dimension there is another Buffy Summers, one that has just been through a lot. You are a part of her and I don't think you really want to cause her any more pain than what she has already been through. She lost her mother, she died, and now she's trying to piece her life back together. Don't you think news of my death is the last thing she needs?"

"I've been through a lot too." Buffy said "I went through all of that."

"And now Angel is gone." Cordelia said softly "That sucks. But his death doesn't have to be in vain. In your world there is only one slayer. There's just you. Faith is broken beyond repair and you're the only one standing between the world and total destruction. In our world, Faith is on her way to redemption. If we rescue her and get her back to where she belongs our world may one day have two slayers. Maybe we'll finally be able to get an advantage in this war."

"That's great for your world, but what about mine?"

"I don't know. I guess the question is if you want us to suffer just because you are?"

…

Not Wesley followed Wesley up to the roof of the building with his gun discreetly pressed against the small of Wesley's back. Wesley remembered how it felt to have a bullet pass through his abdomen and decided against attempting any action that might cause him to have to repeat the experience. They got to the roof. "It's perfect." Not Wesley said "Every Wesley Wyndam-Pryce from any dimension will die. We'll be removed from reality with total finality."

"Yeah," Wesley whispered

"All you have to do is jump."

"Right,"

"I'm sure it will only hurt for a moment."

"Well that's the point right?" Wesley asked as they neared the ledge "For the pain to stop, forever. And what a final word that is, forever, what an important sounding word."

"The only important sounding word that will ever apply to you." Not Wesley said

"Tell me more about Rose." Wesley said

"You're not stalling are you?" Not Wesley asked

"I really want to know."

Not Wesley shrugged. "All right, but then you jump. Otherwise I shoot you."

"And you want me to jump." Wesley said "It's important to you. You have to know right as you die that this is what I chose to do. You have to know that this was supposed to happen."

"It is supposed to happen. So I'll be succinct. She took me to her room and I popped her cherry right then and there. It was my first time too, but I made sure it was clear that I was the one doing the popping. You know there's a distinction. I bet it was the other way with you."

"Yeah," Wesley said "I was very much the popped as opposed to the popper."

"The morning after is when I told her. I told her about me, about daddy."

"What did she say?" Wesley asked

"She told me the only way people like us could survive was by getting enough power to stop people from hurting us. But the truth is that someone will always slip through the cracks in our defenses. I slipped through hers. Others have slipped through mine. There is only one way to defend one's self against harm. There is only one way to make the pain stop." Not Wesley said

"Sometimes I forget." Wesley said "And it always fades, after a time."

"That's the worst part, the fading. It makes the next time even worse. If you could just get used to it, it wouldn't be so bad. But this will be the last time for both of us. When you die all of the other yous will die, including me. The pain will be truly gone. Now go ahead and jump."

Wesley sighed. "I can't."

"We had a-"

Wesley turned around and shoved his other self's arms up. The gun went off while pointed at the sky. Wesley thrust a scalpel he had sneaked into his pocket while still in the hospital room into his other self's stomach. The other Wesley's eyes widened with shock and pain and his mouth hung slightly open. "If I die the wish will no longer be in effect and this dimension will be destroyed. I have to make sure my friends get home safe." Wesley pulled out the scalpel and stabbed his double again. The gun dropped to the roof. "But I'll make you this promise, when I get back home I'll honor our deal." Wesley stabbed his double a third time, and a fourth, and a fifth. Wesley lost count. The blood covered his hands and the slick things slid down the scalpel and were sliced open. Wesley continued to stab his doppelgänger even as his lacerated hands stung with pain. Wesley's blood and the blood of his genetic double mixed while Wesley continued the violence. He began to cry. The salty tears fell into the salty blood and the whole thing became one big mess. Wesley dropped the scalpel and then fell hard to the ground, bruising his legs. He leaned against the wall that lined the roof. He stared at his bloody hands.

…

Buffy stared at Cordelia. "Your world sounds so much nicer than mine."

"Then let it continue as it was meant to." Cordelia said "With us in it."

Buffy nodded. She lowered the crossbow. "Let's save your Faith."

They began their search. It took very little time to find Faith. Angel opened a door and there she was. For a moment he thought she was dead and panic overwhelmed him, but then he heard the quiet sound of her slow pulse. "Faith!" Angel ran to her. "Faith can you hear me?"

She made some vague sounds he couldn't interpret. "Angel?"

"Yeah, it's me. We're going to take you to the hospital."

She opened her eyes and smiled at him. "Hi Angel,"

He couldn't help but smile back. He smoothed her hair. "Hey Faith,"

…

Fred stared at the ceiling. The drugs the doctors had given her were making her usual thought process even more chaotic than normal. If one was to get shot, a hospital was definitely the best place to do it. Still, best not to get shot at all. Wesley had shot her. No, that wasn't true in the slightest. Wesley had been standing in front of her. Then he had put her on the table, gotten her a doctor, and gone away with the shooter. The shooter still had his gun, what if he shot Wesley, and not in the knee? Someone was shining a light in her eye. "How do you feel miss?"

"I have to find him." Fred said

"The police are on their way." The doctor said "They'll find the shooter."

"He has Wesley."

"Are you saying this is a hostage situation?" The doctor asked

She heard people mumbling. Someone asked the doctor if he wanted her to contact the police and update them. "No," Fred said "No, I need Angel. Angel will save him."

"Now she's talking about angels." The doctor said "She's not coherent."

The doctor's words made Fred mad. Anger cleared her head. "Yes I am!"

Fred looked at her knee. She saw a bullet on the ground and wondered if the bullet had gone all the way through her knee. Then she saw the bandage wrapped around her knee. It must have just grazed her, or it would have taken far longer for the doctor to finish tending to the damage done. "Miss lie back." The doctor said "The police are looking for the shooter."

"No! You don't understand! Did it get the kneecap?" She reached for her knee.

The doctor grabbed her hand. "The bullet didn't damage any bone, but it did tear your saphenous vein. We stopped the bleeding, but you need to rest. You were very lucky that the bullet only grazed you. Please don't make your injury any worse by getting overexcited."

Fred tried to get off the examination table. A nurse put her hands on Fred's shoulders while another pulled out a needle. "Do you need us to sedate her doctor?" The first nurse asked

The doctor nodded. The second nurse got closer. "Let go of me!" Fred demanded

"Please calm down." The doctor said "We don't like having to sedate patients."

Fred thought fast. "I'll be calm! I'll be calm! Just don't stick me."

The doctor held up his hand. "Nurse,"

"I'll be calm." Fred said in a soft voice "Can I talk to the police?"

"Not until you've rested." The doctor said "We need to replenish the fluids you've lost."

"I have important information for them." Fred said

"I'll have an officer come to your room as soon as possible." The doctor said "If you remain calm. An accelerated heart rate will exacerbate the bleeding. That's not even mentioning all of the injuries you had when you checked into the hospital. You need to rest and heal."

…

Wesley heard the familiar clicking sound of a gun. He looked up and saw a bunch of people in police uniforms pointing guns at him. "Hello," Wesley whispered in a hoarse voice

"Sir, put your hands on your head." The woman in front of all the other officers said

Wesley stared at his bloody hands. "Ummm…"

"Sir!" Wesley stared at her. "Hands on your head!"

Wesley put his hands on his head. He felt the warm blood on his skin and shivered in revulsion at the sensation. A drop of blood ran down his face, starting at his hairline, sliding past his eye, down his cheek, and then dripping off of his chin. Wesley leaned over and threw up.


	8. On the Other Side

Angel groaned as they pulled up to the hospital. There were cop cars all around the building and officers were directing people away from the entrances. "This is a problem."

Cordelia was already getting out of the car. "Come on," Gunn was right behind her and neither of them thought to wait for Angel. He turned around to look at the semi-conscious Faith.

"Can you watch her?" Angel asked Buffy

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, I've got her."

Angel ran after his friends.

…

Wesley was overly aware of his body. He had learned to turn that off while working for Angel and it had come in handy when Faith tortured him. But now the state seemed to be stuck in the on position. It was something he had developed as a child. Any and every misstep, spilled glass, noticeable stumble, dropped book, or misplaced hand that knocked something over resulted in at the very least a slap. So he had become overly aware of his body's position in space to the extent that it had made him less coordinated. He spent so much time thinking about where his hands were, his feet were, his legs were, his arms were, that anything requiring complicated movements like fencing or fine motor control like working a crossbow was beyond him. He had too much of that part of his brain focused on where everything was. But in the months after he was fired when he had indulged in the bottle perhaps a few too many times he had come to appreciate the value of not being overly aware of one's body. He had learned how to recreate the sensation without the aid of liquor, although liquor always helped. Once Wesley was no longer dwelling on his every minute movement he became far more skilled with the weapons of his chosen trade. When Faith had been torturing him he had tried to shut down his awareness to the extent of cutting off feeling. It was hard though. He could only block out some of the pain and the rest of the pain made it so hard to focus that soon he couldn't even do that. But he kept practicing, he got better. When this dimension's Buffy and Angel had been torturing him earlier he managed to get it down to a dull ache. But now… Everything hurt. Wesley couldn't figure out why his body was so determined to constantly update him on just how broken he was. He tried to think of something, anything, to distract him from the uncooperative nerve endings. All that came to him were memories. He didn't want those, but as the pain became more and more unbearable he grabbed one and let his past pull him out of the present. What a wretched past.

…

Wesley stood in front of the door to the office of one Quentin Travers. His heart was pounding in his chest so hard he was sure Travers could hear it through the heavy wooden door that sequestered him from the rest of the world. Wesley brought his hand up and knocked on the door, careful not to knock too many times. When he was bid enter he made sure to stand exactly three feet in front of Travers's desk. He knew just how far that was because at home his father yelled at him to hurry up if Wesley stood any further back and to stop crowding him if Wesley stood any closer. So he had memorized this distance, it seemed ideal. "Hello Wesley,"

"Good morning sir," Wesley said

Travers squinted at Wesley. "I have good news for you. You have been selected to replace Rupert Giles as the active watcher. This is of course an incredible honor."

"Yes sir, of course." Wesley said

"But I must be honest and tell you that you were not the council's first choice. There are far more experienced watchers that could have taken this assignment. They all turned it down."

Wesley only let this knock him off balance for a moment. "I may be inexperienced, but I'm willing to work very hard. I'm confident that I can lead the slayers down the right path."

"I can only hope your confidence is founded in ability." Travers said "The reason the other watchers turned this assignment down is of course the reputation of the slayers."

"I had heard-"

"Don't interrupt me."

"Terribly sorry sir, I thought-"

"Faith Lehane abandoned her watcher to die during a confrontation with the infamous vampire master Kakistos. Buffy Summers managed to corrupt a capable watcher with her antiauthoritarian views. Your job is to teach these girls the nature of their destinies. The slayer is the weapon of the council, which we use to do combat with the forces of evil. A weapon must be properly wielded. A weapon is not autonomous. These children have to learn to take orders."

"I understand." Wesley said

"Do you?"

"Yes sir,"

…

"Come on," Wesley was yanked out of his reverie by a mean-spirited yank from the cop holding his already bruised shoulder. His arms were a dark purple from the damage Buffy had done and even a light touch made them sing with pain. The rough manhandling this cop was giving him was agonizing. "This way," Wesley quietly followed the cops leading him.

"Shot up a hospital," One cop said "The kinds of people in this world."

Wesley thought about saying it wasn't him. But in a way it was, wasn't it?

…

Gunn decided that he officially hated hospitals. Gunn admitted to himself that he had still been a little pissed about the speech in the alley behind Caritas that Wesley had given him and that had ended with the threat of a firing. But he promised himself that when he found Wesley the first thing he was going to do was give him a big hug. "Do you think all these cops are here because of Wes or Fred?" Gunn whispered to his friends "It seems like a pretty big coincidence."

"They're here because of Wes." Cordelia whispered back

"I know it seems like every incident is connected to us," Angel said "But how do you-"

Cordelia pointed to a group of cops making their way down the hall, one of whom was shoving and pulling a compliant Wesley along. "Wesley!" Gunn shouted as he ran over

Cordelia noticed silver handcuffs on Wesley's wrists as she followed Gunn and more disturbingly, bloody hands. "Step back sir." A cop said menacingly, moving to cut them off

"There's been some kind of misunderstanding." Cordelia said "This is our friend."

"Well your friend shot a girl and stabbed a guy to death." The cop said

"That wasn't him!" Gunn said "That was a guy that looks like- It was his twin brother!"

Cordelia elbowed Gunn. "You're not helping."

"Wait a second." Angel said "Who got shot? Was it Fred?"

This shook both Cordelia and Gunn. "Oh God," Cordy said "Is Fred okay?" She looked at Wesley, expecting an answer from him. "Wesley? Do you know what happened to Fred?"

"Wes," Gunn said

He had yet to look at either of them, or anything. His eyes were vacant and pointed at the ground as though pulled by gravity. "He's hurt." Angel said "He needs medical attention."

"Well he should have thought of that before he committed murder in a hospital."

"Wesley didn't kill anybody!" Cordelia shouted at the cops "Look at him! He's in shock and he needs help! You can't just drag him around and then stuff him in a cell. It's inhumane!"

"We can do whatever we want." A cop said "And if you don't get out of our way _you_ will be the one in a cell. Now **Move**!" Cordelia wanted to jump back, but she held her ground.

"Please," Angel said "Aren't you even going to listen to his side of the story?"

"Or mine?" They all turned around and saw a woman with a leaking bandage wrapped around her knee limping toward them. A shouting nurse was running after her. "I'm the one who got shot and I want to give a statement. That is not the person who shot me. He's innocent."

"Maybe of shooting you," A cop said "But the guy he killed on the roof was stabbed like twelve times. That's also something we frown upon at law enforcement."

"That guy led him away at gunpoint, if Wesley stabbed him it was in self-defense."

"You can't stab someone in self-defense over a dozen times." The cop told Fred

"Oh yeah?" Fred reached them and grabbed Angel's arm for support. "How many times can you stab someone is self-defense? Two? Three? I didn't know there was a specific number."

"Lady, we'll be more than happy to take your statement once the suspect is safely in custody, but for now I have to ask you to get out of our way." The cop said in a firm voice

Fred stood up tall, still holding onto Angel for support. "I'm not moving."

The cops exchanged looks. They had been more than willing to intimidate the others, but one of the victims of the crime they were investigating was another story. The L.A. police department did not need a PR disaster on its hands. "Please move aside for your safety."

"No."

More looks were exchanged. "You want to give your statement right now?"

"Yes, get your little notepads and pencils out."

Angel shared a meaningful look with Cordelia and Gunn. Fred was so much tougher than people gave her credit for. Her bandage was leaking and Angel could tell she was in pain from the tight grip she kept on his arm, but she refused to yield. "All right, what happened?"

"Wesley, that's the guy you have in custody, got beat up. He's a friend of mine and I was already in the hospital so I went to his room to talk to him. That's when his brother showed up and shot me. Then he led Wesley away at gunpoint. If Wesley stabbed him it was only in order to avoid being shot. If he stabbed him a bunch of times it was because he panicked."

One of the cops looked at Wesley. "Is that what happened?"

Wesley was quiet. All of the color had leaked from his skin and there was blood dripping down his face. He looked unsteady and Angel suspected that only the firm grip of the officer was keeping him upright. "Isn't there a room where you could do this?" Angel asked

"Yeah, at the police station." An officer said in a cruel tone

"A room here?" Cordelia asked "Where he can rest for a second?"

Finally the officer who appeared to be in charge relented. "Fine," She said "We'll do the initial interview here. But that doesn't mean we're releasing this man from custody."

As the officers lead a still unresponsive Wesley away in a new direction the fang gang followed right behind them. Angel had to support Fred as they made their way, practically carrying her. The officers led Wesley into a room and had him sit in a chair, with his wrists still cuffed together in front of him. Cordelia procured a wet cloth and went over to clean some of the blood from his brow. The cops made like they were about to protest, but the lead officer waved her hand and they stilled. "Wesley are you all right?" Cordelia asked "Will you say something?"

Wesley acted as though he hadn't heard her. "Sir state your name for the record."

Wesley remained silent. "Wes, say something." Gunn said

"He's in shock." Fred said "He needs a doctor."

The lead officer frowned. "All right, we won't get anything out of him in this condition anyway, someone go get a doctor." Another officer hurried away to obey his superior.

Fred limped over to Wesley, using her friends like a banister. She ended up clutching Cordelia's shoulder and standing in front of Wesley. "Please talk to me." There was no reaction to her plea. He didn't even blink, just kept staring at the ground. "Wesley, whatever happened it wasn't your fault. We're all so very worried about you. Won't you just say one little thing so that we'll know you're here? Wesley?" Fred reached out to touch his moist brow. Not even her touch, which had produced a notable reaction in him before, broke through his stupor. "I know what you just went through must have been awful, but won't you please come back to us?"

"This is bad." Gunn said "This is very bad."

…

Faith rubbed her forehead. "I feel like crap." She murmured

"You look pretty bad too." A voice said

Faith looked at the front seat and the woman who looked like Buffy. "You're not really her, right? You're not the Buffy I know?" Faith realized they were in a parking garage.

"No, and you're not the Faith I know."

"What's she like?" Faith asked

"Sort of- Ummm… insane."

"Ah," Faith stretched. "Where's everybody else?"

"They're inside."

"Where are we?" Faith asked

"Hospital,"

"Ok," Faith started to get out of the car.

"Where are you going?" Buffy demanded

"I have to go find my…" Faith wasn't sure what word she could use that would be appropriate to finish that statement. She had no right to call Wesley or Cordelia friends, and she didn't even know Gunn and Fred. Was Angel her friend? Maybe; she had come here with them to help a person she felt she owed a debt. Was there a word for that? "People," Faith finished in as lame a way as possible "You can come with me or stay here." Faith opened her door and headed for the elevator to the hospital building. She didn't even pause to see if Buffy was following her. Faith pressed the button and sensed Buffy's presence next to her.

"You remind me a little of what she was like." Buffy said "I miss her."

Faith turned and locked eyes with Buffy. "You do?"

"Sure, she means a lot to me. I was alone, and then she was there. I mean I had my friends, family, An-" Buffy looked away, blinking away tears. She cleared her throat and then turned back to Faith, tear free now. "But I knew I was the only one. Then there was you."

"I didn't know that." Faith said in a quiet voice

"Your Buffy never told you that?"

"No, or maybe she did and I just wasn't listening."

"Well she's telling you now."

…

Wesley felt cold metal on his wrists. It was tight and it hurt. Pain, it was odd that he should hate something so integral to his life. Pain was a daily installment, but yet he was so afraid of it. Why didn't he ever just get used to it? Pain… He remembered lying in the hospital bed, drugs fading from his system. The pain was coming. He could feel it like the rising tide licking at his toes. He wanted to send it away. Wesley felt something soft, wet, and warm placed in his hands. Someone was rubbing his hands with a washcloth. They were trying to wash the blood off. He should tell them it was pointless. The blood was already in his hands and there was no way to get it out. The blood had gone in through the cuts on his hands and it would flow in his veins until the day he died. Of course that wouldn't be long. The thought cheered him up as it really should not have. Wesley looked up. Cordelia was washing his hands. It struck him as odd that she would do something like that. He began to giggle, and then he couldn't stop, even though that hurt too. Cordelia jumped back, startled. The cloth fell from her hands onto the ground with a **plop!** and he saw the red water leak out of it onto the tile. "Look at that."

"Wesley?" A soft voice asked

The sound was familiar and it bothered him. It was a beautiful voice. He looked up and saw the beautiful woman with that beautiful voice. "Hi Fred," His voice was scratchy.

"Are you…" She stopped herself from saying all right. He obviously wasn't.

"Wesley what happened?" Cordelia asked in the kindest tone he'd ever heard her use.

Wesley stared at her. "I wanted to apologize."

"What? Wesley what are you talking about?" Cordelia asked

"I went back to the hotel… I was going to tell you how sorry I was."

"No Wesley, on the roof. What happened on the roof?" Cordy was trying to be patient, but there was an edge of irritation to her tone. Wesley found it vaguely frightening.

Gunn put his hand on Cordelia's shoulder and gently pulled her back. He knelt down in front of his friend and looked in his dazed blue eyes. "You went up to the roof, remember?"

"I was supposed to jump." Wesley said "But I couldn't. He wanted all of us to die in an act of total finality. But I couldn't do it. I had to kill him. He deserved it anyway, right?"

Gunn gave the police officers a nervous look. "He tried to make you jump Wes?"

"He wanted to die. He wanted all of us to die." Wesley noticed a loose thread on his sweater and began to pick at it. "Death is such a final thing. He was afraid to die."

"I don't understand." Gunn said "He wanted to die, but he was afraid to die?"

"He knew he was going to hell, but when he found out that he wasn't real he realized he couldn't go to hell. I'm the only one that can go to hell. He wasn't as afraid to send me."

Fred gasped. Gunn, Cordelia, and Angel all stared at her. She glared at Wesley, her expression furious. "You son of a bitch!" The rest of the fang gang were incredulous.

…

Faith and Buffy roamed the halls of the hospital looking for the man who wore the face of one who had done them wrong. Faith saw a few police officers following a gurney with a black tarp over it. She stopped. Buffy stopped with her. "What's wrong?" Buffy asked

Faith stared at the gurney as it got farther away. She didn't know how she knew it was one of them, but she did. She took off running. She had to find out which one it was.

…

"Fred!" Cordelia was stunned. She couldn't believe Fred had said that. "What the hell?"

"You wanted to die." Fred pointed an accusing finger at Wesley. "That's what you were talking about in the hospital room. You said you weren't afraid anymore. You meant death."

Now everyone was staring at Wesley. "You did?" Angel asked softly

"I just thought… things might be a little less confusing on the other side."

Gunn and Cordelia backed away from Wesley as though he were a fatal pathogen or a skittish animal. Fred just moved closer. She was glaring at him. "How could you ever even think about something like that? Don't you know how it would hurt us if you died?" Fred demanded

Wesley looked up at her and blinked, confused. "What?"

"What do you think we would do if you died?" Fred asked

"I… I suppose much the same things you do when I'm alive. I can't imagine there would be that big a difference. Anyway, it's not as though death is something I rarely consider."

"Well how often do you consider it?" Cordelia asked

…

"Hey! Hey!" Wesley looked up from the scotch he was nursing. "Mister!"

"Yes?" Wesley asked

"It's closing time." The bartender said

"Right," Wesley knocked back the rest of his scotch. "Sorry, I'll be on my way."

"You okay?" The busty brunette asked

"Sure," Wesley shrugged. He was unemployed, homeless, an outcast in a foreign country, but he was okay. What the hell did that word even mean? It had been a month since he had left Sunnydale a disgrace, but his prospects had not improved. "I'm fine. I'm bloody brilliant."

"You don't look 'bloody brilliant'." The bartender said "You look 'bloody awful'."

Wesley chuckled. "Yes I do, don't I?"

"Just do me a favor okay?"

"What's that?" Wesley rubbed his face, he wasn't really paying attention to her.

"Don't do anything stupid tonight. Wait until you're under the influence of someone else's alcohol. If I see you on the news tomorrow morning I don't want the guilt of having sold you the scotch which influenced you to do something rash weighing on my conscious. So don't die tonight, because I remember your face. Wait until tomorrow night."

Wesley laughed. "Tomorrow I can die?"

"If you still want to." The bartender said

Wesley froze. The room felt ten degrees cooler. "What makes you think I want to die?"

The bartender shrugged. "It's the eyes. I know the eyes. Now get out of my bar."

…

"All the time, it's just something I've always thought about a lot. Death is such a simple clean way to end the day. It's such a relaxing thought. No more words, no more pain."

"How could you be in that much pain?" Cordelia asked "No amount of pain is worth dying to be free of. Anyway, if you were hurting you should have told us. We're your friends."

"You told me I wasn't your friend, remember?" Wesley asked "You told me that the night my girlfriend broke up with me. You told me I didn't count as a friend. You were right Cordelia, I don't count. I don't have a destiny, and if I did it wouldn't be a pleasant one."

"If you weren't bleeding so badly I'd slap you in the face." Cordelia said "I can't believe you're talking like this. Nothing is bad enough to justify the way you are acting right now."

Wesley laughed again. "Go ahead and hit me Cordy, you might as well take your turn."

"She better not." A voice from the doorway said "I'd have to beat the crap out of her."

Angel frowned at Faith. Buffy stood right behind her. "I thought you were going to wait in the car." Angel said "You're in bad shape. You need to get some rest."

"I'm a slayer. I'm good." Faith said

"Who's this?" One of the officers asked

"I'm a vampire slayer." Faith said "Doesn't matter that I tell you because you're not real, because none of this is real. You're all just shadows, reflections. Isn't that right Wesley?"

Wesley shifted uncomfortably. "Yes, none of them are real."

"Not even the man you killed?" Faith asked

"How did you even-"

"Hey watcher boy?" Faith asked "How about you answer my question? You have a destiny, you always have. Your destiny is to watch. Now answer my Goddamn question."

"The shadow dimensions are only as real as the effects they have on the real dimension and any part of that dimension they come into contact with. The people that inhabit them have neither souls nor free will. They are reflections of selected attributes of inhabitants of the dimension being reflected. But they can possess no quality not already in the person who they are a reflection of. The Buffy standing behind you can have no personality attribute the original does not have. Anything you see in her exists in the Buffy you know. The same is true of my doppelgänger and his brutality. If I have a destiny Faith, I don't want to find it. I don't want anyone who has anything like that in them to exert any kind of influence on the world."

Faith paused. "Okay watcher boy, your call." It only took five seconds for her to have disarmed all the cops in the room. They were on the floor, dazed or unconscious as Faith pointed a confiscated gun at her head. "No one that brutal can be allowed to live. Are you sure that's how things have to be? Are you positive?" Angel started for her; she shot him in the chest.

Angel fell against the wall and held his hand to his chest. "Ow! Faith!"

Faith turned the gun back to her head. "Do you really feel that way?"

"It's not the same." Wesley whispered

"Why not?" Faith's voice was calm and cold. Gunn pulled Fred and Cordelia back toward the wall, as far away from the crazy woman with a gun as possible. "Why the hell not?"

"Because you're a stronger person than I am." Wesley said "You can hack it."

"You idiot," Faith said "I dream every night. Not prophetic slayer dreams, horrible gruesome dreams, torments. I dream about the men I killed. I dream about the people I maimed, especially you. You tried to help me and I sliced you up like a butcher does an animal carcass."

"I never tried to help you Faith." Wesley said "I tried to help myself."

"So help me now. You're the only person I hurt that I can find some kind of absolution with, and if you die there's no one left. I have to make this right. And you are going to help me because I am one of the chosen ones. That's your destiny, to help the chosen ones who fell off the path of righteousness. If you don't do it we'll be damned. So do your damn job."

Wesley stared at her. "Why did you break out of prison? I never found out."

"Someone's trying to kill me." Faith said "Same old, same old."

"Why'd you come to L.A.?"

"There were a few reasons."

"Start with the one that made you say a few reasons instead of just telling me."

Faith lowered the gun away from her head. "There's a man that I hurt. If I broke out and disappeared without explaining to him why he might have thought I'd gone rogue again. I had to let him know I wasn't a danger to him. I wasn't going to show up in his living room with a piece of glass and a blowtorch and hurt him again." Faith looked down. Wesley saw a single tear escape her face and hit the ground. "But I did hurt you again. You made that wish because you saw me, so all of this is because of me. I made such a mess of things. I'm so sorry." Faith said


	9. Questions

"It's okay Faith." Wesley said "This wasn't your fault. Maybe we never had a say in any of this. Maybe we're just pawns in somebody else's game. Or worse, maybe we're the fallout from the actions of the real players. Maybe we aren't even being moved around the board, we're just floating on other people's wakes. Maybe a great hero with golden hair died for the world and the people she loved only to come back moments later, but in those moments her sacrifice gave birth to you. Maybe you were just fallout, and so was I." Wesley looked down at his hands and the silver bracelets that kept them bound together. "I don't have any answers for you and I'm tired of this game. All I'm good for is storing and translating information. But I don't think I can do that anymore. I'm tired. I'm so very tired." Wesley refused to look back up at them.

Angel took the handcuff keys from the belt of one of the unconscious police officers and unlocked the restraints. Wesley didn't even seem to notice. Angel noticed a cut along Wesley's bony wrist where the metal had dug into his skin. That smell always made Angel hungry and that hunger always made him a little ill. "Why didn't you ever tell us any of this?" Angel asked

Wesley rubbed his eye with the back of one now free hand. He looked almost like he was regressing, like he was a scared little boy. "It didn't matter. Anyway, I couldn't let you know."

"Know what?" Gunn asked

…

"Wesley,"

Wesley looked up from his task. He was packing for school. It was his final year and he had been selected as head boy. Packing was not an overly important venture, but he went about it with the same attention to detail he did everything. "Hello mother," Wesley said cautiously

"You're going back to school."

"Yes mother,"

Wesley's mother looked around the room. "It looks the same. Whether you are here or gone, the room looks the same. You don't have much of a presence Wesley. Perhaps that is a good thing considering your profession. Still, you would think… But you're just here."

"Mother?" Wesley shifted uncomfortably.

"I just wanted to tell you to be careful."

"Careful?" Wesley asked "I'm just going back to school."

Wesley's mother began to laugh. At first she tried to stop it, tried to put her hand over her mouth and stifle the chuckles, then she just gave in. She laughed and laughed. "I don't know what possessed me to even try. They'll eat you alive boy, as well they should." She left the room, still giggling to herself. "They'll tear you apart, as well they should any of our ilk."

…

"Wesley?" Fred asked "What didn't you want us to know?"

Wesley shook his head. "I didn't want you to know where I came from."

Gunn and Cordelia shared a look while Fred's and Angel's eyes met. Faith just kept watching her former watcher. "Where we come from isn't who we are." Faith said

Wesley gave her a sad smile. "And yet, here you are."

Faith dropped the gun. It hit the ground with a hard clang. Her eyes watered as she continued to stare at him. "I changed. I worked hard to become someone else."

"We all work hard Faith, but it's not enough. I know now what I am."

Faith picked up the gun and made sure there was a round in the chamber. She started toward Wesley. "Faith," Angel moved to stop her and she kicked him in the face.

While Angel staggered back Faith put the gun in Wesley's hands. She clasped her hands over his to make sure he didn't drop it. "Then do it. Do it right now. Come on Wesley."

"Faith-" Wesley began

She moved the barrel of the gun so that it was resting on her chest. "Do it."

"I can't." His voice betrayed deep shame and fear. Angel wasn't sure which came first.

"What are you, a coward? Do it!"

Wesley made a sad mewling sound. "Please stop."

"I've heard those words before. I've said them. No one ever listened to me, so why the hell should I listen to you? Why shouldn't I just carry on the cycle that you believe in with so much conviction? You're so smart. You know things I don't. So you must know why there isn't any hope for the children raised in blood. If you can't explain it to me I'll just take it on faith."

Wesley's eyes locked with hers. "I tried so hard to hide it and they saw." He whispered

Faith let go of Wesley's hands and the gun fell to the ground again. It was starting to make Angel nervous. Faith had let go to lift her shirt up. Right below her right breast was a jagged scar. "So what?" She dropped her blouse. "They've seen worse things."

Wesley began to sob. No one knew how to react to his tears. He shook with the force of weeping that would not be held back. Every teardrop Wesley had ever held back for fear of attracting more anger to himself decided that now it would be free and Wesley could not stem the flow. He wept and wept. While he did each of his friends remembered things and were filled with deep regrets. Angel remembered hearing a demon taunt Wesley about being locked under the stairs and wondered why he had never brought it up. Cordelia remembered Wesley telling her how the most likely culprit in child abuse cases was the father and how later she had wondered why he knew that and then dismissed the inquiry. Gunn remembered Wesley talking about Fred's parents and how nice they were in a very odd way. Fred remembered the phrase that kept ringing in her head. _'I don't know what kind of man I am anymore.'_ Fred walked over to Wesley and Faith stepped back to give her space. She put her hand on his back and felt the force of the sobs in him. For a moment she was afraid his chest would explode. Then she dismissed that fear as physiologically ridiculous. She knelt down and put her arms around him awkwardly. "I'm so sorry all those bad things happened to you. I'm sorry this bad thing happened to you, but maybe this had to come out. Maybe this is for the best. I still like you. I still like you a lot."

Then she just let him cry. Cordelia whispered to Gunn. "Get Angel and Faith to leave, I think we're overcrowding him. He might feel less awkward if we're not all here." She said

Gunn gave Cordelia a suspicious look. "What about you?"

"Just do what I say." She hissed

Gunn sighed and then went over to the slayer and vampire. Surprisingly Faith was more than willing to listen to Cordy's suggestion. Angel was less so, but he eventually followed Faith and Gunn away. Cordelia pulled a chair up to across from Wesley. She sat down and waited for his tears to be done. Then she handed him a handkerchief. Cordelia ignored Fred's 'if you hurt him I will kill you' glare and waited for Wesley to look at her. "So," She said "Here we are again, in another hospital. Good old Wes, you never stray far from the pattern."

Wesley gave her an uncomprehending look. "What?"

"I remember this pain." Cordelia looked up at the ceiling, biting her lip and holding back tears of her own. "It ripped through my head like a bull in the proverbial china shop. It was a constant horrific pain. There was no escape, not for one second. I thought I was going to die, I wanted to die. The pain was so bad it made me crazy." Cordy's voice was cracking with stifled tears, but not one had escaped yet. "Then it was gone. Angel went to you, when you were in a hospital bed of your own. You had machines hooked up to you to keep you functioning and you were in pain of your own. You were covered in burns, bruises, cuts. You came to my room and you translated the scroll, and my pain was gone. No one would have blamed you if you couldn't do it, couldn't even try. No one would have blamed you if you said the pain was too bad or that your injuries prevented you from doing the translation. But you got out of that bed and you saved my life. You took a bullet for a dumbass who thought picking a fight with a zombie qualified as a good plan. You convinced us to take Angel back and saved him from the darkness that would have swallowed him whole. Wesley, we'd all be dead if it weren't for you. We repaid you for your unconditional loyalty by ignoring your pain. I'm so sorry." She leaned forward and kissed his brow. He flinched, unprepared for her affection. "I wish I could go back in time and find that little boy who became my friend and tell him how important he is, but I can't. So I'll tell you."

"Cordelia," Wesley said "You… You don't have to be nice to me because you feel bad."

"I don't have to do anything, I'm Cordelia Chase." She reached out to brush his hair and he flinched again. She kept her hand there by his face. "I do what I want to do. I want to help you because you're my family. You're one of the only people to ever see me for who I am."

"And I don't get a choice in this whole helping me thing do I?" Wesley asked

"The boy can be taught." Cordelia whispered

…

Shadow Buffy looked awkwardly up and down the hall. Faith was sitting cross-legged on the floor, staring at the hands lying limply in her lap. Gunn was leaned against the wall staring up at the ceiling with tears welling up in his eyes. All he could think about was his friend in the hospital after he had gotten shot. He remembered before Wesley woke up and how very pale he was and how weak he looked. "I feel like I would have brought it up, like all the time."

Angel was staring down the hall. "What?" He asked Gunn without looking at him

"If I took a bullet for someone, I would bring it up. I would remind them a lot."

"Sure," Angel said "That's a serious thing." His voice was listless

"He never did, not even as a joke." Gunn said

"Maybe he didn't think getting shot was funny." Angel murmured

"You know what I mean." Gunn said "Can you imagine how great a closer that would be in an argument? No, no, continue with what you were doing. It's not like I got shot for you."

"He didn't want to hurt you." Faith whispered

Angel and Gunn both looked at her. "What do you mean?" Angel asked

"He didn't want his friend to feel guilty about what happened. He doesn't think he's worth feeling guilty about." Faith looked at Buffy. "Do you have a cigarette?" She asked

"We're in a hospital." Buffy sounded appalled "And I don't smoke."

"How did you get that scar?" Angel asked Faith

"Broken bottle, I think it was rum." Faith said as though it wasn't a big deal

Angel walked over to her and sat down next to her. "I need your help." He said

Faith turned her head and they locked eyes. "Ok,"

"I messed up."

Before Faith could respond the cop that had left to get a doctor returned with a woman in a white coat. He started for the door. "Damn," Faith got wearily to her feet. Faith punched out the cop with a single blow. "This is not good for my redemption." The doctor's eyes widened and she took off running. Faith shook her hand and then blew on her knuckles.

"Wow," Gunn said "You're something else."

Angel placed a hand on Faith's shoulder. "You get a pass for these people because they aren't real and also because we're trying to do a good thing. Now let's get out of here."

…

Fred rested her head on Wesley's shoulder. She remembered how it had felt to kiss him, how shy he had been. It was like affection was something he wasn't well acquainted with and didn't know how to react to. She wanted to kiss him again, but she knew now was not at all an appropriate time. So she just kept holding him. The door burst open and all three of the room's occupants jumped. "We have to get out of this hospital." Angel said "Right now,"

"Where are we going?" Cordelia asked

"Caritas," Wesley mumbled "I have an idea."

Angel offered Wesley a hand to help him to his feet. Wesley hesitated before he gripped the vampire's cold hand and allowed himself to be led out of the hospital.

…

Lorne made a face as he opened the door to his club and let the fang gang make their way down to the bar. "Well… At least you found him. What the hell happened?" He asked

"It's a long story." Angel said

"Not really," Faith said "We just don't feel like telling you."

"I like the honest one." Lorne said

"I think I can use an incantation for restoring the natural order of things to return us all to our proper dimension." Wesley said "I lost all of the ingredients… earlier though."

"I'll-" Angel remembered that sunrise was approaching. "Gunn will go get them."

"I'll go too." Faith said "Make sure he gets there safe."

"No, you're going to take a nap because you look like crap." Angel told her

Faith scowled, but she allowed Lorne to show her to the bedroom. Gunn promised to be right back and Wesley went to go prepare something for the spell. Fred followed him, saying she wanted to learn more about spells and would help him. Angel and Cordelia sat at a table staring at each other. "We messed up." Cordelia said "We're like the worst friends ever."

Angel nodded, numb. "We'll fix this."

"How?" She asked "He was going to kill himself. That's bad Angel."

Angel traced a finger over the wood of the table. "Human beings can come back from almost anything. Trust me, that's a fact. Think of all the things you've been through."

Cordelia put her head in her hands and looked at the table. "I guess."

"He's a strong person."

"Sure, but…"

Angel looked up and she did as well. Their eyes met. "What?" He asked

"I think he was just being strong for us."

…

Wesley set the bowl holding the herb mixture aside. "Is that it?" Fred asked

"Until Gunn gets back." Wesley said

He was looking away from her. Fred wanted to touch him, but she didn't know how that would be received. "You've known them for a long time, Angel and Cordelia, and Gunn."

Wesley shrugged.

"You've known them longer than you've known me."

He nodded, unsure where this was going.

"I understand if you don't feel comfortable talking to me, but you need to talk to somebody about all the stuff you're holding inside. It's not good to be all pent up."

She saw a small smile on the part of his face she could see. "No, it's not."

"If you want to talk to me-"

Wesley turned to face her and she stopped talking. She held her breath as she waited for him to say something. "I do. I just don't know how. But I really want to talk to you."

She gave him an encouraging smile. "What are you thinking about?"

"I wish I could go back. I wish it were two weeks ago and none of this had happened."

"I'm sorry Wesley. We can never go back. But the future can be even better."

"Do you think?" He asked

Fred leaned forward. She told herself she shouldn't be doing this, but her body acted on its own and her mind just threw its hands in the air, surrendering. She put her lips on his and she put her hands on his shoulders. She kissed him. She could feel his warm breath in her mouth, tasting like morning breath because he of course hadn't brushed his teeth the whole time he had been here. Normally that was a huge turn off for her, but right now she didn't care. She kissed him with more passion. She could feel him responding to her touch, he was immersed in the kiss.

"Ow," Wesley pulled back reflexively.

"What's wrong- oh!" A cut on Wesley's face was bleeding again, having been pulled open by their kiss. "I am so sorry!" Fred took a cloth and gently dabbed the bloody area.

"It's okay." He said "Worth it,"

She smiled at him. She kissed him as gently as possible. "You're so breakable."

"I don't mean to be." He said

"No, it's okay." She gave him another gentle kiss. "A lot of valuable things are."

…

Gunn came running down the stairs as fast as possible. He could not wait to leave this screwed up dimension as far behind them as possible. He saw Angel and Cordelia jump at the sound of his pounding feet. "Did anything else happen while I was gone?" Gunn asked

"Nope," Cordy gave him a wan smile. "I think we finally used up all of our bad luck."

Faith came out of the bedroom rubbing her eyes. "You jinxed us Cor."

Cordelia shook her head. "You got the stuff?" She asked Gunn

"Yeah, where are Wes and Fred?"

"They're in a back room making out." Angel said

Angel's three companions stared at him in disbelief. "Come again?" Cordelia asked

"Vampire hearing," Angel said

"Go Wes," Faith murmured

"I'll go get them." Cordelia said "I am so ready to go home." Cordelia shook her head as she walked to the room. She knocked on the door and Fred opened it. Wesley was behind her gathering the stuff he had already prepared for the spell. "Come on kids," Cordelia said

"Who are you calling kids?" Fred asked "We're older than you."

"Only chronologically, let's get a move on. I'm ready to return to the things make sense dimension right now. Well, the things make more sense dimension. Come on." Cordy said

Wesley and Fred followed Cordelia to the bar. Wesley set up all of the ingredients and then picked up a book and flipped to the page with the spell. He stared at the page. Once he recited the incantation they should return to their dimension. But as much as things would look familiar everything would be different. He had seen things, seen a part of himself that was never supposed to see the light of day. He didn't know how he could keep going forward with that knowledge in his mind. He didn't know if he would be able to look his friends in the eye every day, or ever again. He stared at the ancient words and realized that his hands were shaking.

Fred put her hand on his arm. She whispered in his ear so that only he (and Angel) could hear what she said. "It's okay. You're going to be okay. Just take us home."

Wesley took a deep breath. He read the words and as he spoke the last one he felt the other reality fall away into nothing. It didn't exist anymore. That was an oddly comforting thought as his body hit the ground hard. He moaned with pain while he heard a Pylean shouting in the background. "Who's there?! How did you get in- Oh it's you guys. Hey."

Wesley felt a strong grip haul him to his feet, but gently. "Are you okay?" Angel asked

Gunn was helping Cordy to her feet and Faith was pulling up Fred. Lorne was shaking his head at the intruders. Wesley looked around at the general destruction. "Repairs seem to be coming along." He said "When are you planning on reopening?" He brushed dust off his shirt.

"Soon, and don't take this the wrong way but you guys aren't invited to opening night."

"We're home!" Cordelia shouted "Let's never go to another dimension again!"

"Seconded," Gunn said

"Most definitely," Wesley said

"That would be great." Fred said

"I hate alternate dimensions." Angel assured his friends

"So, who's ready to go back to the hotel?" Cordelia asked

Fred's reply was a jaw-cracking yawn. Gunn flinched in sympathetic pain just hearing it.

"Right then," Cordelia smiled at Lorne. "Thanks for all of your help."

Lorne gave her a quizzical look. "Huh?"

"Your doppelgänger was great." Angel said

"Well I'm glad I could help." Lorne said "I hadn't called the slayer yet so that vengeance demon should still be trapped in the binding circle at your hotel. Now please get out."

"Crap," Angel said "I forgot about her. What should we do with her?"

"I'm all for killing her." Cordelia said

"We'll figure it out." Angel said "Let's just go." He noticed that Fred's knee had gotten banged up in the impact and was now covered in blood again. "Are you all right?" He asked

"No hospital!" Fred and Cordelia shouted at the same time

"Okay, geez," Angel said "Let's go home."

Angel's battered band of heroes made their way outside while Angel took the sewers because it was morning and they didn't have a car. "Do you guys mind if I just-" Wesley began

"Yes!" Cordelia and Gunn said, each grabbing one of his arms

"Okay, ow, let go. I won't go home. Sheesh, do you practice that?"

"Do you think we'd look suspicious on the bus?" Gunn asked

"We're going to have to deal with it unless you want to carry Fred." Cordelia said

"You guys take the bus." Faith said "I'll walk. I'm a wanted fugitive, remember?"

…

Angel was the first to make it back to the Hyperion. He was stunned when he entered the lobby and saw the mess. The place had been systematically torn apart. Files and books were on the ground with bits of broken glass. The weapons cabinet had been knocked over and its contents scattered about. The cushions on the couch were ripped to shreds. The damage continued up the staircase and Angel didn't even want to see the other floors yet. The only thing that was as they had left it was the binding circle with the demon inside. "What the hell?!"

"Pretty great, huh?" The vengeance demon said with a huge grin on her face

"Did you do this?" Angel demanded

"Yeah, I escaped, tore your hotel up, and then walked back into the binding circle neat as you please to deal with your wrath when you got back. That's what happened." She said

"Well what happened?" Angel asked

"Because I so want to help you out." The demon said

"Look, I'm not in the mood. Tell me what happened and I'll let you out."

"Fuck you, why would I believe that?"

Angel threw his hands down. "Fine, whatever! Just stand there and don't talk."

"Hey, whatever happened to your boy?" The demon asked

"He's fine." Angel grumbled

"Not-for-long." Liyanna said in a sing-song voice

Angel turned to her and examined her. "What do you mean?"

Liyanna shrugged. "What do I mean?"

"Don't play around with me." Angel warned

"Oh sweetie, I've long since stopped playing. This stopped being a game from the moment you locked me in here. I just wanted to kill a guy who slapped a girl around, you had to turn it into a whole big thing. But you're about to learn why you never _ever_ mess with a vengeance demon. It's just not a good idea. The people who tore up your hotel? They were here looking for someone. I told them she was with your boy. So you better hope she still is, or they are going to get really pissed. They'll take it out on him, and anybody he happens to be with."

"Who was here?!" Angel demanded

Liyanna examined her nails. "I'm trying to remember."

"Tell me!"

"Oh! Now I remember." She grinned at him. "Some wizards, apparently they need a powerful sacrifice to activate this spell they want to cast. They decided your girl was just the trick they wanted. And this spell, it's a doozy. I don't approve in the slightest, but I won't mind if you and your lot get wiped out in the process of stopping them. There was a fellow named Ethan, not a huge fan of yours apparently. There was another fellow named Andrew, didn't really seem like he wanted to be here. Then there was a girl, she was the odd one, very odd."

"Where did they go?" Angel asked

"To find Faith, who they think is with your boy. Seems they have a way to track him."

…

Wesley and Fred sat next to each other on a bench in the bus. Neither of them needed to speak and they both leaned back into their seats with their eyes clothes. Gunn and Cordelia sat on the bench on the other side of the aisle. The two were keeping an eye on their injured and exhausted coworkers. Fred's knee hurt more and more as the adrenaline and endorphins faded away and Wesley's injuries were also protesting. Fred put her hand on top of his and he wrapped his hand around hers. They still didn't need to speak. The bus came to an abrupt stop that sent them both flying forward. Fred's forehead smacked into the bench in front of them and Wesley's jaw was attacked a similar way. Gunn jumped to his feet to see what the cause was and they saw a perplexed driver pressing an uncooperative gas pedal. The door to the bus was yanked from its position and people screamed. An old man entered the bus. "You!" Cordelia shouted "You tried to kill Buffy that one time! And you were the guy who caused the Halloween thing!"

"Yes, that was me." Ethan smiled at Cordelia. "Where's the slayer?"


	10. Sinners

Jonathan sighed. This was supposed to be fun. Being super villains, causing chaos, hanging out. But ever since Warren had found that scroll and been all super secretive about what it said things had been different. It wasn't about having fun anymore, it was about Warren's secret plan. Well Jonathan was starting not to care about the plan. Jonathan didn't want to sit outside the slayer's house with a pair of binoculars. It felt creepy. He knew he was only doing it because of an evil plan, but if someone saw him they would think he was some kind of peeping tom and how could he explain that he was just trying to… Well he didn't know what he was trying to do because of the big secret. "This sucks." He muttered "This really, really sucks."

…

Faith trudged through the doors of the wrecked Hyperion in time to see Angel rush toward the basement. "What happened here?" Faith asked, causing Angel to backtrack

"Faith?!" Angel looked past her. "Where is everybody else?"

"They took the bus." Faith said "Did somebody throw a party and not invite us?"

The vengeance demon chuckled. "Oh you're invited, you're the guest of honor."

Faith gave Angel a quizzical look. "I don't get it."

"I'm taking the sewers. You go above ground. We have to find the others." Angel said

"They're on their way here." Faith said "Won't we just miss each other?"

Angel considered this. "Okay, I'll wait here because I can't get to the road anyway so even if I found them I couldn't do anything. But you need to go find them. We have a problem."

…

"The slayer?" Cordelia asked nervously "Have you tried Sunnydale?"

"That's cute." Ethan said "Really, quite adorable."

"I'm less amused." A woman entered the bus behind Ethan while a blond teenager that looked vaguely familiar stood outside. "Hey Wesley," She waved at Wesley, who was holding his bruised and bloody mouth. His eyes widened upon seeing her. "You look… the same really."

"Interesting," Ethan said

"Quite, where's the slayer?" The woman asked

"I told you." Cordelia said "She's in-"

The woman threw her hand toward Cordelia and she went flying toward the back of the bus, her body hitting the back wall and crumpling into the seats. "Cordy!" Gunn ran toward her.

Wesley stood up and Ethan moved forward and grabbed him by his collar. "No boy,"

The woman put on hand on Ethan's shoulder and ran her hand down his arm until she was touching Wesley's neck. She dipped a finger in his blood. "Where's the slayer?"

"She's not here." Fred said as civilians conducted a mass exodus from the bus

The woman put her bloody finger in her mouth, sucking on it. "Well that narrows it down not at all. We were looking for a more exact location. Latitude and longitude would be great."

"But we will settle for an address." Ethan said

"We don't know where she is." Wesley said, causing blood to pour out of his mouth

Ethan dropped the younger man. "Now that's just disgusting."

The woman giggled. "Oh Ethan, you're so funny."

"Um guys," The blond teenager said "I think we should go."

The woman licked her finger again, trying to get the blood stuck under her nail. "Why did we bring him again darling? He tries my patience so egregiously. Can't I kill im?"

"Oh no love, we have enemies to kill, always do them before the allies."

The woman sighed. "It's a bore, to do things the proper way."

"I know, but we'll soon be behaving most improperly. If you could just get your old school mate to tell me where his former charge is we can be on our way."

"What do you say Wesley?" The woman asked "Where's the slayer?"

"I don't know." Wesley said "I honestly have no idea."

The woman sighed. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Why do you try my patience?"

"Wait a minute…" Fred stared at the woman. "Are you…"

The woman stared at Fred with cruel blue eyes. "Am I what?"

"Are you the girl? Are you Rose?"

The woman tilted her head. "How do you know my name?"

Fred gasped. "You're the one! You're the school bully."

"Not anymore," Rose assured her "I've moved on from that. Now I'm a serial killer."

"What is it with the council these days?" Wesley murmured "Everyone's turning evil."

"We were always evil Wesley, but now we're also chaotic, a dreadful combination."

Ethan knelt down in front of Wesley. "Do you want to see what the mixture makes?"

"Hey!" Ethan and Rose turned around. A pissed off Faith entered the bus. "Get the hell away from my watcher." Faith dragged Andrew behind her as she descended on the Brits.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow," Andrew said "That hurts."

Gunn was helping Cordelia to her feet. She was rubbing her head and pressing against her spine, but she look relatively undamaged. "Don't I know you?" She asked Faith's hostage

"I'm Andrew Wells." Andrew said

"Doesn't ring a-"

Andrew sighed. "Tucker's brother,"

Cordelia's face lit up with recognition. "Right! Prom guy, what a jerk."

"You know I'm the one that unleashed the flying monkeys on the school-"

"As fascinating as this conversation is," Rose said "Can we maybe progress to the slaughtering everybody?" Rose threw out her hand and sent Faith and Andrew flying out of the bus into the street. She and Ethan went after them. Wesley, Fred, Gunn, and Cordelia followed them onto the street. Faith struggled to her feet and Rose used magic to send her flying again.

"My God," Wesley said "What happened to you?"

Rose turned around and smiled at her old schoolmate. "You know how it is."

"Not really," Wesley said "When did this happen?"

"Well once I killed my parents and about a dozen watchers that they sent after me to bring me in I had limited options. It was jail or villain. I went with the more fun option."

"What do you need Faith for?" Wesley asked

"Good old Wesley, so full of questions. You're adorable." Rose chuckled.

"I can understand why you would hate the council, but why go after the slayer?"

"It's nothing personal." Rose said "I just need a sacrifice. I figure she'd be easier to get my hands on than the one with friends. I hear that redhead is making waves in the energy flows."

"What kind of sacrifice demands blood that mystically potent?" Wesley asked

"That would be telling. But since we're catching up, what the hell happened to you?"

Wesley touched his face. "I made a wish."

"Tsk, tsk," Rose said "That vengeance demon back at the Hyperion?"

"You were at the Hyperion?" Wesley asked

"Looking for the slayer, yes. I thought the vampire would know." Rose turned around in order to send another attack toward the slayer who had struggled to her feet. Faith flew further away and Wesley saw red fluid begin to form a pool around her. "She is stubborn."

"Don't sacrifices usually need to be alive to be sacrificed?" Wesley asked

Rose sighed. She turned to face Wesley. "Trust me, that bitch isn't going to die from being tossed around a bit. Not like you, you're all squishy. Do you want to be squashed?"

Wesley stared at her. "What's the spell?"

Rose looked past Wesley toward Fred, who was leaning on Gunn because her knee could no longer take the pressure of her body weight. Rose smiled at Fred in a way that reminded Fred of the Pylean who had sold her. It was the same smile he wore when he saw a cow he thought would fetch a high price at market. "It's a terrible spell Wesley." Rose whispered

"What will it do?"

"End the world." Rose stared at him, serious. "And not in a merciful blaze. It will be a slow, painful, grueling end. Our race will cease. All that will be left will be the demon kind."

Wesley took a step back. "Why?"

Rose turned around to go collect the slayer. He heard the notes of her soft singing as she made her way to Faith. "I smell women, smell em in the air. Think I'll drop me anchor in that harbor over there. Lovely ladies, I'll love you till I'm broke." Ethan followed her and Andrew tried to get to his feet. Gunn ran after the witch and wizard. Fred had to grab onto Cordelia to keep herself from toppling over. Rose leaned over the slayer and was rewarded with a kick in the face that sent her reeling back. "You little bitch!" Rose fell to the ground.

"Good job Faith." Wesley whispered

Gunn reached Ethan and punched him in the face. Ethan reeled back, but responded by throwing a powder at Gunn that exploded in his face. Gunn stepped back and put his hands to his face, shouting in pain. Faith grabbed Ethan by the arm, took a scalpel from her pocket, and then pressed it against his neck. As Rose got to her feet Faith pressed the scalpel closer to Ethan's skin and kept a vise-like grip on his arm. "One wrong move and I'll take your boyfriend's head clean off. You know I can. But back away right now and he'll live to see tomorrow."

Rose chuckled. She rubbed the red mark on her face where Faith had hit her. "Go ahead,"

"Oh come now Rosie," Ethan said "We have such good times."

"I can find another wizard." Rose said "And I can find another dick. I might even be able to find another person who is both. I don't need him. So go ahead and kill him if you can."

Faith faltered. "Don't do it Faith." Wesley said "They aren't worth it."

The sound of sirens filled the air. "Rosie love," Ethan said "Maybe we should try to get the slayer another time. I don't think this is our moment. Let's say we go now."

Rose shrugged. "All right slayer, we'll go."

Faith let go of Ethan. Wesley knew what was going to happen next so he made his way toward her as quickly as possible and tried to push her out of the way of Rose's attack. The last thing he remembered was a flash of red light and then a wave of darkness.

…

Angel paced back and forth in the lobby. He tried to block out the taunting of the vengeance demon while he thought, but it was nearly impossible. He didn't know very much about magic, he needed an expert. He slapped his forehead and went over to the phone to dial a number he remembered from yesterday. He tuned out the demon's joke about how he was supposed to beat up his enemies, not himself. He barely let Giles get out the hello before he started his explanation. "Giles! We just got back. Some wizards are after Faith. They want to sacrifice her for some kind of really bad spell. I need to get in touch with Willow."

There was a pause. "What have you lot gotten into up there?" Giles asked with a sigh

"It's not us." Angel tried to defend himself "Your buddy Ethan is a part of it."

This got Giles's attention. "Ethan?! I thought he was rotting away in a cell somewhere."

"He's in L.A. and he's after my friends. He wants to do some sort of spell, I don't know what it is but it's probably bad. They want to sacrifice Faith for it. I thought Willow might be able to tell me what kind of spell they might be trying. This is kind of an emergency."

"I can see that." Giles said in a dry tone "We've been dealing with a bit of an emergency ourselves however, Sunnydale is under some sort of mystical effect that has caused everyone to burst into song at the slightest provocation. We're trying to figure out the cause now."

"I'm not trying to be childish, but I think my problem's a bit more serious."

"I know it sounds trivial on the phone, but it really is a problem. Where is Faith at this exact moment? If the wizards need her to complete the spell your first priority should be to make sure she's somewhere they don't have access to. Perhaps you could take her back to prison, they can hardly perform the sacrifice there. The assassination attempts were probably a ruse to draw her out. It would appear they have been successful in that regard." Giles said

"I can't just take her back to prison. She didn't do anything wrong."

"She killed a man." Giles said gently "She also, if I recall correctly, tortured your friend."

Angel flinched. "I mean when she broke out. They'll punish her for breaking out even though she only did what she had to in order to survive. I can't let her be punished for that."

Giles sighed. "You never said where she is."

"She's out looking for Wes and the others."

"So she's out looking for your friends while the people who want to kill her are in the same city looking for her? That seems like a disastrous setup Angel." Giles said

"Well when you put it like that-"

"Listen I have to go." Giles said "Call me back later."

"But-" The line hummed, dead.

Liyanna chuckled. "Nice job vampire."

Angel slammed the phone down. "When this is over I'm going to cut your head off."

…

Faith ran toward the witch. She saw Rose move her hands and Faith instinctually put her hands in front of her face. She felt a burning in her hands so painful it brought her to her knees and she screamed. Rose started toward the slayer, but Ethan grabbed her. "Not now my love, now we make our grand escape." He took firm hold of her wrist and started to drag her down the street away from the scene. Rose punched his ear. "Ah!" Ethan staggered back.

Rose turned back toward the slayer and was greeted by Faith's burnt hands latching onto her throat and squeezing. Rose grabbed the hands and the burns on Faith's hands got worse and worse as Rose forced heat into her flesh. But Faith refused to let go and soon Rose's eyelids began to flutter. Rose slumped toward the ground. Faith let her fall to the ground and the woman would have incurred a serious cranial injury if Ethan hadn't caught her. He lifted her over his shoulders and ran from the slayer. Andrew followed, terrified. As they ran by Cordy she tripped Andrew and sent him sprawling to the ground. Ethan didn't even pause and when Andrew tried to get to his feet Cordelia kicked him in the abdomen and then put her foot over his throat.

"I surrender!" Andrew squeaked

…

Jonathan's mouth dropped open. Were the witches having sex? This almost made being put on recon duty worth it. Jonathan tried to adjust the focus on his binoculars, but then his cellphone went off and he dropped them. "Darn it!" He sighed as he answered the phone, but secretly he was glad he had dropped the binoculars. He liked to see a naked woman as much as the next guy, provided that guy wasn't Andrew, but he felt so creepy watching a woman without her knowledge. It felt wrong in a very visceral way. "Hello," He said to the unknown number

"Hey Jonathan," A petulant voice whined

"Andrew?" Jonathan looked at the number. "Whose phone are you on?"

"Do you remember how Warren sent me to L.A. to help those creepy British people capture the other slayer for that super-secret spell he wouldn't tell us about?"

"Yeah," Jonathan said

"I got caught. Warren won't answer his phone and I'm really scared. One of these people is a vampire and I'm afraid he's going to eat me. Can you find Warren and come rescue me?"

Jonathan sighed again. "I'll go look for him."

"Hurry! I don't want to be eaten."

"I'm hurrying. Just try not to smell too delicious."

…

Angel rubbed his head. The vengeance demon was still in the binding circle and Andrew was tied to a chair in the lobby. Cordelia was on the phone with Giles getting information about the geeks that had been terrorizing Sunnydale lately. Wesley was still unconscious in one of the upstairs bedrooms and Fred was watching over him. Gunn was lying on the couch with an icepack on his face while Faith paced back and forth with her hands wrapped in bandages like she had gotten a transplant from a mummy. Angel heard a click. "Giles said he will come down to talk to this Andrew guy and try to figure out the spell as soon as everyone stops singing."

Gunn sat up. "What?"

Angel waved his hand. "Don't ask."

"So what do we do until then?" Faith asked

"Avoid the crazy British people?" Angel asked

"I say we have Faith torture Andrew." Cordelia said

"What?!" Andrew squealed

Faith gave Cordelia a dirty look. "I don't do that anymore."

"Cordy," Angel said in a warning voice

"I just don't see why when it's us getting tortured it's fine, but when there's a bad guy with information we need suddenly it's wrong. That doesn't make any sense to me."

"It's always wrong Cordelia, you know that. You're just trying to make Faith feel bad."

"Is it working?" Cordelia asked

"Hard to tell." Faith said "I already feel bad."

"Can we focus?" Angel asked "Please?"

Cordelia put her hands in the air. "Fine, whatever."

"The bad guys need Faith to complete their evil plan right?" Gunn asked

Angel nodded.

"So we just keep her safe until those witches get here and tell us what's the what."

"But what do we do with the wizard and the vengeance demon?" Cordelia asked

"I say we cut the demon's head off." Angel said

"Sounds good to me." Cordelia went over to the weapon's cabinet to get Angel a sword.

"What kind of binding spell is that?" Warren asked

"No talking unless it's of the gut spilling variety." Cordelia told Andrew

Andrew mumbled something under his breath but they all ignored him. Cordelia handed Angel a sword and he headed toward the vengeance demon. As he rose it to sever her head the pattern on the floor glowed for a moment and then Andrew shouted a wish. "I wish the vengeance demon and I were transported to where Warren and Jonathan are! Please!"

The demon gave Angel a cheeky smile. "Done."

Angel's sword swung through empty air. "Damn it!" He shouted

Gunn shook his head. "I'm going to go take a nap."

"Me too," Faith said "Does it matter which room I take?"

Angel shook his head, temper boiling. "No, you can have whatever room you want."

"I'm going home." Cordelia said

"Maybe that's not the best idea." Angel said "If Ethan or the chick-"

"I'll be fine." Cordelia said "I'm a seer with mad swordsmanship skills."

Angel nodded. "Just be careful."

…

Jonathan entered the basement. "Warren! Are you here?!"

Warren was hunched over a scroll and he looked up with an expression of intense displeasure on his face when he heard Jonathan. "What is it?" He snapped

"Andrew got captured." Jonathan said

Warren swore. "How are we supposed to capture the other slayer if we can't even stop ourselves from being captured? What exactly happened?" Warren pushed the scroll aside.

"I don't know. They let him call us, I think they were trying to find out who we are."

Warren pulled out his cellphone and saw the missed call. "Great, and now they do."

"So are we going to go rescue him?"

"We'll wait until we hear from our new allies." Warren said

Jonathan glanced at the scroll. "Can I take another look at the scroll?"

"Why? You already translated the part I needed to read." Warren said

"I just thought it would be cool to know what the spell did."

"You'll know soon, you'll be helping cast it." Warren said

Jonathan shifted uncomfortably. "Andrew thought he was in danger."

"He'll be fine. Good guys never kill anyone."

"But-"

"I said-!"

Warren was cut off by a flash of light and then Andrew was on the ground wincing and rubbing his backside. A woman was also there. "Wow," Jonathan said "What happened?"

Andrew started to answer, but before he could get a syllable out the vengeance demon grabbed Warren and threw him across the room. She picked up the scroll and shoved it into her pocket before turning to face Jonathan. "You, you are the one with the magic." She said

Jonathan backed away. "I-I-"

She waved her hand for silence and Jonathan complied. "Tell your leader and his allies that if they go any further with their attempt to activate the scroll of Creon I will find someone who despises you enough to wish you particularly gruesome deaths. You have been warned."

Jonathan's eyes widened as the strange woman disappeared. Warren pulled himself up and both he and Jonathan turned to Andrew. "What the hell was that?!" Warren demanded

…

Wesley opened his eyes and tried to remember what had happened. They had been on a bus, then the bus had been attacked. The memories came rushing back and Wesley recalled getting in the way of Rose's attack on Faith. Wesley sat up and touched his head. "You're up!"

Wesley jumped a little at the loud proclamation. He turned his head and the sight that greeted him turned his face into a grin. "Hey Fred," She moved from her chair to sit on his bed.

His smile grew. "How long was I out?"

She reached for his head to feel the knot in the back. "A couple of hours," She said

He wanted to turn his head and kiss her arm, then keep kissing her up her arm, to her neck, and finally reaching her beautiful ruby red lips. "What happened after I went out?"

"We got away with a hostage." Fred ran her fingers through his hair.

"Go us," Wesley whispered

"Hm," Fred moved closer to him. She leaned forward. "Wesley," She whispered

"Yes?"

"I'm trying to seduce you." She said

"Really?"

She nodded. "Yeah,"

"Does that mean I'm supposed to kiss you?" Wesley asked

"Only if you want to." Fred said

"It's sort of what I've been thinking about since I woke up and saw you." Wesley leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. She opened her mouth and ran her tongue over his teeth while he tasted her lips. He savored the flavor that was Fred. "Hm," He moaned

When they pulled apart she grinned at him. "Now what are you thinking about?"

"How beautiful you are." He said "And also that I might be dreaming."

"Do I look like a dream?" She asked

"Not one of mine, like the dream of a famous sculptor."

She blushed. "I didn't know you were a poet." She said

"I'm not." He promised "I'm just overcome by you."

"By my beauty?" She asked

Wesley shook his head. "By all that you are, by your essence and soul."

Fred giggled. "You're not like anyone I've ever met." She said

"Is that a good thing?"

Fred pressed her ear against Wesley's chest and listened to his heartbeat. "Yes,"

…

Faith was a light sleeper, she had to be both in prison and on the street. So when she heard the soft impact of a light foot hitting the carpet she immediately sat up. She stared at Angel, who wore a very guilty expression. "Sorry," He whispered "I just wanted to…"

"What?" Faith wasn't whispering. "Watch me sleep?" She asked in a humorous tone

"Only for a moment, I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"If someone snuck up here and murdered me you would probably hear something."

"No," Angel gave her an exasperated look. "That's not what I meant."

"Well what did you mean?" Faith asked, genuinely confused

"You've been through the ringer. When you got here you were already exhausted, then we went to that other dimension and… I don't even know what all… put you through. Then you went up against a powerful witch. I know you have slayer healing, but the emotional strain-"

Faith cut him off. "Don't worry Angel. Compared to parts of my life yesterday was a total cakewalk. I just need a few hours of z-time and then I'll be bright and perky." She smirked.

"I just want you to know that if you're having a hard time… that's okay." Angel shifted from foot to foot and looked everywhere but at her. "You can… talk to me." He said

Faith chuckled. "Man, you suck at this."

"That has recently been brought to my attention." Angel said

"Get some sleep soul boy. I'll still be here later."

"Promise?" Angel asked

Faith tried to keep the hurt from her face and voice. "Do you think I'm going to run?"

"No Faith, I just want you to know I would care if you did." Angel's soft footfalls carried him out of her room. Faith slowly laid back down and let herself fall into a slightly deeper sleep.


	11. Ugly

Willow twiddled her thumbs. She didn't want to look away from her lap, so she pretended to be fascinated with the movements of her thumbs. She knew Tara must know what she was doing, but Tara hadn't yet said a word the whole trip. Giles was pretending that nothing odd was going on, but Willow knew her old librarian was more perceptive than that. "We should be in L.A. in about thirty minutes." Giles said in a bright tone "Then we can get this over with."

"This is just a magical consultation right?" Tara asked "What's so bad about that?"

Willow flinched at how calm Tara sounded. Wasn't she still furious? "Giles isn't looking forward to seeing some old acquaintances." Willow said while remaining fixated on her thumbs

"It's one thing to talk to Angel on the phone." Giles said "It's quite another entirely to see him again. Although I suppose if Wesley can deal with Faith I can deal with Angel."

"I feel like I'm missing a lot of backstory." Tara said "Angel is Buffy's ex right?"

Willow sighed. "Basically two of the people at this little gathering we're about to have have tortured two of the other people there. So that's a tad awkward making." She explained

"I see." Tara paused. "Do they… still torture?"

"No, at least I don't think so." Willow said "Angel never tortured with a soul did he?"

"Not that I am aware of." Giles said "But I don't know what all Angel and his band of misfits have been doing in the city. All I know is that they need our help and if I'm not mistaken we all needed to get out of Sunnydale. At least I know I bloody well did."

Willow turned to face Giles, stunned that he had broken the denial. "What?"

Giles gave her a quick disapproving look before returning his gaze to the road. "I needed to get away from Buffy for a little while to clear my head. I think it's fair to say that you two need to have a conversation not influenced by magic or any hellmouth activity. Correct?"

Willow returned her eyes to her lap, cheeks red. It was Tara that whispered: "Correct,"

"But our first priority is to figure out what this spell is." Giles said "We can't forget that."

"Right," Willow whispered

…

Wesley heard the knock on his office door and absent-mindedly bid the knocker to enter while he kept his attention focused on the volume he was reading. "Hard at work Wes?"

Wesley looked up. "Oh, hello Faith."

"Any news on that spell?"

Wesley examined her. She looked better rested and cleaner than she had when she'd first shown up at the Hyperion, but her eyes still contained disturbing shadows. Despite the fact that she had been living on the floor over his office since they got back from the other dimension he had seen very little of her. He had assumed that was because she was resting. "We have very little information to go off of. But Willow should be here soon and might be able to shed some light on new possibilities. There are very few magics that require the kind of power that would need slayer blood to activate it. And magics that powerful require skilled witches and wizards."

"Plural? How many people are we talking?"

"That depends on the spell, but a triad would be the minimum I should think."

"So there's that bitch you went to school with, Halloween guy, and the dork who escaped with the demon. That makes three. Hopefully the spell needs more than that." Faith said

"I don't think Andrew is actually a wizard." Wesley said "He just got lucky with the weakness of the binding spell Angel used and that he knew the counter incantation."

"Right, well…"

Wesley waited for a moment. "That's not what you came to talk about?"

"I uh… I don't really know where things stand between us."

Wesley looked down at his book. He looked back up at the slayer and was surprised by the vulnerability he saw in the woman who had once had all the power over him. She was waiting patiently for what he was going to say next and afraid of what it might be. "As far as I'm concerned we're good. Neither of us has a spotless record where the other is concerned. I don't have the patience or inclination to sort out what we owe each other. How about we start fresh?"

Faith stared at him like he was insane. "Are you serious?"

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Clean slate, we're good? Wes… that's crazy. What I did to you-"

"You saved my life." Wesley said to cut her off "Twice,"

Faith shook her head. "Look, you have every right to be angry. I just want to know-"

"Faith." He waited to make sure she was paying attention. "The past is not a place I am overly fond of right now. I don't want to live there. I don't even want to visit. Okay?" He asked

Faith understood. She nodded. "Thank you," She whispered

Wesley nodded. "Is that all?"

"Just one more thing. Feel free to tell me to piss off, but uh…"

"Yes," He prodded

"It's just that… The thing is… Now that I'm out of prison I guess I'm sort of a slayer again, and that means… The council and I aren't getting along overly and…" Faith shuffled her feet and then took a deep breath before just blurting it out. "Will you be my watcher?"

Wesley's jaw dropped. "What?"

"I know, it's stupid to ask. But I don't really trust myself to do it on my own and I just thought since you were trained to be a watcher and you're already watching Angel, maybe you could take on one more case. It was either ask you or Giles and I much prefer you."

Wesley started to laugh. He tried to stop as soon as he realized he was laughing but then he gave up and just let it run its course. When he was done he looked up at Faith and saw that she was confused and apprehensive. "I'm sorry." Wesley said "I just can't believe that you said that, but you really did. Faith, I would be honored to be your watcher." Wesley assured her

She smiled. "Are you going to make me run the obstacle course?"

"Every day," He said with a cheeky grin

…

Cordelia entered the Hyperion lobby and smiled when she saw Angel sitting on the shoddily repaired couch. Her smile evaporated when she saw Faith's back in the open doorway to Wesley's office. "What is _she_ doing in there?" Cordelia demanded of the vampire

"They're talking." Angel said in a soothing voice as he continued to read his book

"Oh yeah, what about?"

"Cordelia, it would be unethical for me to use my superpowers to-"

"Don't even try me, okay? I know you listen to all of our private conversations and I know even if you could turn off your super hearing you wouldn't. So spill." Cordelia ordered

Angel chuckled. He looked up from his book. "Good morning to you too Cordelia."

She tried to glare at him but it turned into a smile. "Sp-ill."

"She wants him to be her watcher again." Angel said

Cordelia turned her gaze back to Faith's back. "The unmitigated gall." Cordelia said

"I think it's sweet." Angel said

"Yeah, because when _I've_ been brutally tortured by someone the first thing I want to do is spend more time with them. There is nothing sweet about it. Faith doesn't do sweet."

"I think you should give her another chance."

Cordelia scoffed and then went to make coffee. Angel looked back down at his book, but before he could even find his spot again he heard someone clear their throat. Angel got up and turned around to see Giles standing in front of two young women. "Giles! Hey," Angel said

"Angel," Giles said politely

Cordelia came back out with Faith and Wesley following her. "Willow!" Cordy said

"Hey Cordelia," Willow smiled and waved.

"It is so good to see you again." Cordelia said "I haven't seen you since you came to L.A. to tell us that Bu- Does anybody want coffee?" Cordelia asked in her fastest track switch yet

"I'd love some." Faith said

"I wasn't talking to you." Cordelia said in a cold voice that made the whole room flinch

"Cordelia," Angel said

"I'll accept that she's here." Cordelia said "But I won't make her coffee."

"Message taken," Faith said softly "I get it."

"What a lovely way to start this little palaver." Giles said

They heard footsteps and all looked toward the staircase. Fred was coming down to meet the new people. "Hi!" She seemed ecstatic to see them, even though she didn't know them.

Wesley walked over to Fred. "Mr. Giles, Willow," He paused when he realized he didn't know the name of their third member. "This is Winifred Burkle. She works with us."

"Just Fred," Fred told them

"A pleasure to meet you Ms. Burkle." Giles said "I'm Rupert Giles, this is Willow Rosenberg, and this is Tara Maclay." He gestured to both women in turn.

"I guess that's everyone until Gunn gets here." Cordelia said "We all know who sir broods-a-lot is. Of course I'm Cordelia and Wesley is Wesley. So that's it."

"On that topic," Giles said casually to Wesley "What the bloody hell happened to you?"

Wesley sighed. "It's a long story, very boring."

"Faith didn't torture you again did she?" Willow asked "Because we came here under the assumption that there was no more torturing going on. We're very anti-torture."

Tara nodded with emphatic agreement. "Extremely anti-torture,"

Wesley sighed. "Faith has reformed. She's no threat to anybody anymore."

"Except vampires," Faith said

"Right, they're fair game." Wesley said

"Except Angel," Cordelia said

"Of course," Wesley said

"Except for when he's evil." Willow said

Wesley rubbed his forehead. "Can we focus on the spell?"

…

Ethan lay in bed with his ferocious partner on top of him. Even while she dominated the interaction he had her hair wound around his hand and he would on occasion give a powerful yank that made her yelp with pain and passion. For her the two were the same. Rose wasn't the first masochist Ethan had dated, but she was the most devoted to pain out of any of them and at times she frightened even him. She avoided permanent damage to her body when possible, but pain was her intent and she could only go so long without it. They finished when she decided she was done and she left him to tend to the remainder of his needs. When Ethan was done with that task he went out to the balcony of their hotel room where Rose was standing in a robe. He wore only boxers when he put his arms around her. "What are you thinking about?" He asked her

"The past," She told him

He began to nibble on her ear. "Why are you doing that?"

"It hurts." She said "To think about what was."

"Very badly?"

"It's like hands in my chest pulling my heart and mashing it until it is putty and can be shaped into whatever emotion. But then the hands leave my heart shapeless and I feel pain."

"That sounds awful." Ethan said

"I like the pain, it's what comes next that I dislike."

"What comes next?" Ethan moved his mouth down her neck, licking and biting.

"The judges come to sentence us. They come while we are sleeping. They call us ugly little girls and we take it because we are. I'm so very ugly, my soul screams with it."

"Your body hides this ugliness well." Ethan said

Rose turned in his grip and they kissed. "Thank you love." She said "How have your sources progressed in finding our vengeance demon? I really want to cut her to pieces."

"Patience Rosie,"

"I wonder what he'll do when we succeed."

"Who?" Ethan asked

"My old schoolmate, what will he do? I bet he'll be one of the first men to die."

"First men?" Ethan asked "Why the distinction?"

Rose removed herself from his grip. As she walked away he could hear her sing in her soft voice. "Lovely ladies waiting for a bite, waiting for the customers who only come at night."

"Don't you know any other songs?" Ethan called after her as she continued to sing

"Lovely ladies ready for the call, standing up or lying down or any way at all."

"I guess not." He said with a sigh

…

When Gunn arrived at the Hyperion a research party was in full swing in the lobby with books and scrolls scattered everywhere. He went over to Wesley to get his assignment. "Do we have any books in English for this case?" Gunn asked "Because the last time I tried Latin-"

"Cordy has all the English books." Wesley murmured as he flipped a page

Gunn scanned the room as he went over to Cordelia. "Where's Faith?"

"She got antsy and so volunteered for the easy job of getting coffee and donuts."

"You said you were hungry." Angel said

"She didn't even offer to pay." Cordelia protested

"She's a fugitive, where is she supposed to get money?" Wesley asked

"Oh great, now you're on the pro-Faith team too?" Cordelia said "Fred you're still with me right? We have to band together if our hatred is to thrive in this forgiving environment."

"Sorry Cordy," Fred was sitting next to Wesley and as she spoke she positioned herself so that she was leaning against his shoulder. "I want to be on Wesley's team."

"Traitor," Cordelia mumbled "Gunn, are you with me?"

"Uhhh…" Gunn thought about who was more frightening, Faith or Cordelia. "Yep,"

"At least one of you still has some loyalty." Cordelia handed Gunn a book.

Gunn looked at the title. "A history of the slayer line."

"Look for other instances of slayers being sacrificed in profane rituals." Wesley said

"Is this indexed?" Gunn asked

"Yes," Cordy said "But there isn't a sacrifice one. You'll have to check all the murders."

"Awesome," Gunn said

…

Jonathan and Andrew were playing a video game while Warren worked on the project he had abandoned to work on the scroll. Now that the scroll was gone he was back to the cerebral dampener and more determined than ever to finish it. Jonathan turned his head to make sure Warren was still absorbed in his work. Jonathan leaned toward Andrew. "Hey," He whispered

"What?" Andrew asked with a mouth full of twizzlers

"Sh, listen for a second."

"You're trying to distract me so you'll win." Andrew whined "Stop it."

"No listen, this is about the spell." Andrew fell silent. Jonathan took that as his cue to explain his fear. "I think it might be something bad. I think Warren might want to use it to do something very bad. I don't mean cool bad, I mean like really bad, like evil. Get it?"

"No." Andrew said

Jonathan sighed. "Do you remember how the mayor turned into a giant snake?"

"No, I wasn't there for that." Andrew said

"Do you remember Snyder?" Jonathan tried

Andrew made a face. "Snyder," He muttered

"I think Warren might want to do something Snyder evil."

"What?!" Candy spilled out of Andrew's mouth at the exclamation.

"Shh," Jonathan hissed

"Can you losers keep it down?!" Warren demanded

"How could you say something like that?" Andrew whispered

"Why won't he let us see what's in the scroll?" Jonathan asked

"Because it's really cool and he wants it to be a surprise." Andrew whined

"Andrew that's stupid." Jonathan said

"No you're stupid!" Andrew yelled "You're stupid and your ugly face is stupid and Warren is our friend and you're trying to turn me against him because you're jealous that he's a beautiful virile man while you're an ugly short loser! I don't want to play anymore!"

Jonathan jumped as Andrew threw his controller to the ground and stormed off, sending a bowl of popcorn and boxes of candy to the ground. Jonathan sat in the mess while Warren continued to work, not even paying attention to them. "What am I going to do?" Jonathan asked

…

Wesley was sitting cross-legged on the floor, leaning against the wall with a book in his lap and a beautiful woman leaning against his chest. He could not imagine a better position to be in, well one, but this was pretty great. Fred's hair was so close to his nose that it was a constant perfume, distracting him from his work. He had to keep internally chastising himself and drawing his attention back to his book. He forced himself to focus on a passage about the power which comes from mixing human and demon blood. This was close enough to the origin of the slayer's power to warrant further investigation. The chirrup of a cellphone broke his concentration again. He looked up and saw Willow answer her phone. "Hello," She said

"Oh, if it's Dawn, tell her I don't know what happened to that skirt." Tara said

Willow's eyes widened. She put her hand over the microphone. "It's Jonathan."

This got everyone's attention. "What does he want?" Giles asked

"What can I do for you?" Willow asked politely

Tara smiled while Cordelia rolled her eyes. "What did he say?" Fred asked

"He says the spell is in something called the scroll of Creon and they don't have it anymore because the vengeance demon stole it. She said if they tried it again she'd kill them."

"Ask him if-" Angel began

Willow shook her head. "He hung up."

That's when everyone noticed that Wesley and Giles had gone very pale. Fred twisted around to look at Wesley's face. "Wesley?" He stood up and walked over to the pile of books

"What's going on?" Willow asked

Wesley picked up a book and flipped to a page. He wordlessly handed the volume to Willow and then pointed to a passage. Willow read and they got to watch every speck of color leave her skin. "Baby," Tara said nervously "What is it? What does it say?"

Willow began to read the book in a shaking voice. "Creon blamed Antigone for his suffering and so he went to the most powerful of all dark magicians. He agreed to damn himself for all eternity as the slave of the lord of hell if he could but take vengeance against Antigone and her unfair sex. The magician was intrigued by what Creon proposed and created a spell that would punish all womankind. Though he did not have the power to bring it about it was complete and if the proper rites are observed it may be cast. The spell was confiscated by a hero who, seeing what it was, tried to destroy it. He was never successful and it was buried in his tomb to be kept away from humanity forever. The last known location of the scroll of Creon is a vault that belonged to a powerful demon sorcerer. When the demon sorcerer died the scroll became lost and it is hoped that it was destroyed. For the effects of the scroll are devastating and will end humanity as we know it. For all of Eve's daughters will cease to be if the power of the scroll is realized. They will move for their hearts will beat. They will live for their lungs will fill with air. But their will and their freedom will cease to be. No woman will move of her own accord if the scroll is used successfully. They will be as puppets. They will speak only if a man bids them to for only the sons of Adam will retain their freedom while Eve's daughters act as their willing slaves. Though the word willing will no longer be applicable to their sex."

The book slipped from Willow's fingers and she began to shake. "Wh-what?"

Willow turned to face her lover at the sound of Tara's terrified stutter. Willow reached for her hand and Tara dove into Willow's arms, seeking comfort. Everyone was silent as they processed the horror of what they had just heard. Those who were standing sat down. Giles took his glasses off and began to clean them. Cordelia rubbed her arms, suddenly chilly. Angel stared at Faith, who was staring at her still-bandaged hands. Gunn looked at Cordelia and thought about how very alive she was. Wesley leaned against the couch and stared across the room at Fred who met his gaze. Her eyes were the size of saucers. Neither of them could quite conceptualize the horror that they felt. "Half of the world," Giles whispered "Gone, alive but gone in every sense."

"Zombies," Cordelia whispered

"Zombies with their souls trapped in their bodies," Wesley said "Unable to think, dead but going on. Forced to be used and unable to even protest, unable to even feel… anything."

"It's sick." Fred said in an angry voice "What kind of monsters would ever want-"

Fred's voice cracked and she looked down. "We have to find Ethan." Giles whispered

"And Rose, and the rest of this trio." Wesley said

"I don't get it." Fred said "Rose is a woman. Why would she…"

"According to her file she is insane." Giles said "And it is possible that some of the people involved in this don't know the full details. Regardless, we have to find and contain-"

"She knows." Wesley whispered "She said the spell would end the world."

"But it won't technically do that." Gunn said

"Oh it will." Wesley said "Can you imagine the chaos? No child could be conceived without an act of rape. Millions of jobs would no longer get done. Human beings would become a commodity in societies where all residual traces of slavery were previously abolished."

"It can't get that bad that fast." Cordelia said

"Yes it can." Angel said "The systems in place to protect people from being victimized rely on the victims reporting the crimes. That will become impossible. It would only take a few bed men to start things off. Then the problems would just get worse and worse."

"Infrastructure would fall apart." Fred said

"Governments would reform or crumble." Wesley said "Those that stuck by the ideals of the current times would be the first to fall while misogyny would become the prevailing ideal."

"Can we stop talking about it and just make sure it does not happen?" Willow said

"That's a very good idea." Giles said

…

Buffy sat on the couch with her knees pulled up to her chest staring out of her window at the beautiful sunny day. Dawn was at school. Willow and Tara were in L.A. with Giles helping Angel figure out what was going on. Buffy wondered if her old lover was asking her roommates for information about her. If he was she wondered what they were telling him. Buffy wished the sun would hurry up and go down so that she could go out into the darkness. The bright sunlight was taunting her. Her phone went off and Buffy considered not answering it, considered going up to her room and taking a nap. She answered the call. "Hey Will," Buffy said quietly

"Buffy we need to talk to the trio." Willow said

"Did you figure out the spell?"

Buffy detected a tremble in Willow's voice. "It's pretty bad."

"Okay, I'll go look for them. Maybe I'll hit up Willy for info."

"Spike might know something." Willow suggested

"Yeah, maybe I'll talk to him when the sun goes down."

"Buffy this spell… If it gets cast we'll all be dead." Willow said

Buffy should care about that. Buffy would care about that. Buffy forced herself to summon the appropriate Buffy reaction. "Well that's not going to happen. We'll stop it."

Buffy heard Willow breathe a sigh of relief. Everything would be okay because Buffy was on the case. Was that the only reason they had brought her back? "I know."

"I'll call you when I have information." Buffy hung up and then forced herself to stand.

…

Cordelia was making up a room in the Hyperion. Willow and Tara had offered to stay and help do more research. Wesley had taken them up on the offer once he remembered that he was still in charge. So they would be spending the night. Giles was headed back to Sunnydale and would help Buffy find and interview the trio. "Are you okay?" Cordelia yelped and dropped the pillow she had been putting a pillowcase on. She turned to glare at Angel. "Sorry," He said

He did actually look sorry so Cordelia decided not to hassle him. "It's fine."

Angel picked up the case and held it open for her. "So are you okay?"

"A few crazy wizards want to enslave my entire gender, what's new?" She put the pillow into the case and then Angel set it on the bed. "How could any woman be a part of this?"

"Giles said Rose is crazy." Angel said

Cordelia rubbed her head. "You'd have to be pretty crazy to want to be a slave."

"I know." Angel said "But I remember a time when a lot of women let themselves be treated that way with no spells involved. That's the way society used to be." He said

"Well it makes me sick." Cordelia said

"Me too," Angel said as Cordelia grabbed her head. "Cordy?"

Cordy groaned in pain and Angel grabbed her before she could fall to the ground while she shouted snippets from her vision. "A shop! A magic shop! The demon! Anya?"

People came running into the room. Wesley, Fred, Willow, and Tara were the first to get there and Wesley pulled out a pen and a pad of paper. "Did Cordelia have a vision?"

"No doofus," Cordelia said "I developed Tourette's."

Gunn and Faith ran in. "What happened?" Gunn asked

"What did you see?" Angel asked

"I saw Anya in a magic shop."

"The Magic Box!" Willow said "She co-owns it with Giles."

"The vengeance demon was there. They were talking and then…" Cordelia flinched and rubbed her sore head. Fred ran off and then came back with a glass of water and aspirin.

"Then what?" Angel prodded gently as Cordelia took the pill

"Ethan and Rose showed up. They're going to kill the demon."

"Well I'm not going to start crying about-" Gunn began

"She has the scroll, remember." Fred said

"Could we get there in time?" Wesley asked

"No," Cordelia said "We have to call Buffy. Even she might not be able to make it."


	12. Will You

Anya was counting her money. She smiled. This was her favorite part of the day, counting her hard-earned cash. She began to hum to herself. "Hello Anyanka," A voice said

Anya looked around. "Who's there? These are not our operating hours."

A figure emerged from the shadows. "I think you should make an exception for me."

"Liyanna? What are you doing here?" Anya asked

"I need your help. A pair of magicians have been trying to summon me. I have been blocking their attempts, but they have power. I fear they may soon succeed. If they do they will kill me and steal the valuable item I have in my possession. Please, I need your help."

"I have never known you to be one to ask for help." Anya said

"This is my final possible recourse. I cannot go to any of our kind and confess that I took such a direct hand in interfering in mortal affairs. But I cannot survive much longer unassisted."

Anya sighed. "I am rather busy."

"You will not be for long if the magicians get this scroll." Liyanna held the parchment out for Anya to examine. Anya took the scroll reluctantly. "This is serious Anyanka."

Anya looked at the scroll. "This is the scroll of Creon." She whispered

"You particularly I would think might take issue with it being used."

"I will help you." Anya said immediately "I wish-"

"No!" Liyanna shouted "I cannot have D'Hoffryn finding out what I have done."

Anya hesitated and then nodded. "That would be unfortunate."

"You know a powerful witch. Can she perhaps destroy the scroll?"

"I thought that was impossible." Anya said

The front door, which Anya knew she had locked, opened. "Nothing is impossible, only not attempted by a powerful enough person yet." Ethan Rayne said as he entered "However your witch will not get the chance to attempt to destroy our scroll. You will hand it over."

Rose entered behind Ethan and smiled at them. "Now would be great."

"Do you know what this is?" Anya demanded of Rose

"Of course I do you silly little girl." Rose said

"It will bring about untold destruction and chaos." Ethan said

Liyanna's eyes widened with comprehension. "He is the one who is unaware."

Anya's gaze fell on Ethan. "This is the scroll of Creon."

Ethan faltered. He turned to Rose. "It is?"

"Does it matter?" The Englishwoman asked "We set out to submerge the world in chaos, to bring on the beginning of the end. This will accomplish that well enough. Now, if you don't mind terribly, please slaughter the demons for me love. I grow bored and boredom ill suits me."

…

Fred twitched nervously as she watched Willow hang up the phone. "Buffy is on her way to the Magic Box." Willow said "Giles is close to Sunnydale and he's headed straight there."

"So what do we do?" Fred asked

"We wait." Wesley said "Research the scroll. It's all we can do."

"What happens if they get the scroll?" Cordelia asked

"Nothing if they can't get their hands on slayer blood." Wesley said

"Well maybe it wasn't the best idea ever to send Buffy after them then." Faith said

"Buffy can handle herself." Angel whispered

"And she's the only one that could go to the shop." Willow said "Xander is no match for a wizard, much less two. Who else was I supposed to call? Buffy can take care of it."

For a moment they were all silent. The tension in the room was thick enough to be cut with a knife. Cordelia sighed. "Well I'm checking out of the research jam. You guys feel free to burn the midnight oil but that vision took it all out of me. I'm going home and taking a bath."

"You look pretty beat." Gunn said "Need a ride?"

Cordelia started to reject the offer but then shrugged. "That'd be great actually."

Gunn grabbed his coat and keys. "I'll be right back to help you guys read more about all of those dead people." Gunn escorted Cordelia to his truck, leaving the researchers behind.

"He's not coming back." Faith said

"What do you mean?" Angel asked

"Well it looks like I need to go on another coffee run." Faith grabbed her coat and left.

Wesley handed Angel a book. "Let's get cracking."

…

Spike had a bunch of reasons why stalking the areas the slayer frequented wasn't pathetic in the slightest, but he wasn't even fooling himself. He knew the reason he was walking by the Magic Box right now was because he hoped Buffy was inside. The lights were off, but he saw four people inside and heard voices. He walked closer to ascertain their identities. He saw Anya, two strange women, and a fellow it took him a moment to recognize. Spike had no idea what Giles's old enemy was doing in the Magic Box, but he doubted it was good. Maybe if Spike stopped them the slayer would be 'grateful'. Spike grinned. He opened the door and entered the scene, drawing everyone's attention. "What's going on here then?" Spike demanded

Anya pointed at Ethan and one of the strangers. "They're trying to kill us!" She accused

"Only in the literal sense." Rose said soothingly

"Well we can't have that, now can we?" Spike asked "Off you go then."

"What do you care vampire?" Rose demanded

"I'm a caring bloke." Spike said jovially

"No you're not." She said "You don't even have a soul."

"Be that as it may, I can't have you upsetting the status quo in my town." Spike said

Rose glared at Spike. "Fine, have them give us the scroll and we'll leave without a fuss."

"Seem reasonable," Spike said "Anya, give the witch the scroll."

"No," She said firmly "I'd rather be torn to shreds."

Spike was taken aback by this. "Since when are you the self-sacrificing type?"

"What this scroll would do to me is worse than death." Anya said

Spike shrugged. "I guess I have to fight then." At the moment he completed that sentence Rose removed a vial from her pocket and splashed the contents toward Spike. The holy water hit Spike in the face and he roared with pain. Spike's vampire face emerged and he charged the witch, who put her hand up and sent a violent force his way. Spike flew into a shelf and crashed down with its contents. He became drenched in brine and other fluids from potion ingredients and when he tried to get to his feet another force hit him. "Stop that!" He shouted

"Stop that!" Rose mocked him "Or what?"

…

Gunn's truck pulled up to Cordelia's apartment and she started to get out. "Do you need me to walk you inside?" In response to her dirty look he explained. "I just really don't want to read about more murdered teenagers. Have some pity for a brother." Gunn pleaded

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "I suppose it would be irresponsible not to offer you a cup of coffee before you go. You could fall asleep at the wheel and get into a terrible accident."

"And then we'd be back at the hospital." Gunn said as he followed her inside

Cordelia shivered. "Never again,"

"I remember how you freaked while Wes was in surgery getting that bullet removed."

"I thought we agreed never to talk about that again." Cordelia said

"I thought you just meant that… other thing." Gunn said

Cordelia led Gunn to the kitchen. "The whole thing," She said "I just want that whole awful night expunged from my memory. That was one of the worst nights of my life. There was Wes getting shot, then those cops attacked, then the hospital, then Angel… It just sucked."

"What about the… other thing?" Gunn asked

Cordelia started to make Coffee. "So not talking about it? That just went away?"

"I just want to know if that… also sucked. Because I-"

"Look," Cordelia said "We were both upset, scared, the adrenaline high, we made a mistake and we agreed to never talk about it again. Why are you bringing it up now?"

"I don't know. I just feel like after everything that happened we got some proof that the not talking about things thing doesn't work so well. Maybe it's better to talk, even if it's weird."

Cordelia sighed. She gripped the edge of the counter. Her head still hurt. She squeezed her eyes shut tight and tried to will the pain away. "Maybe, but not now okay? I'm tired."

"Sorry," Gunn said "You're right, this is a bad time." He got up and poured two mugs of coffee and while he did so Cordelia went to get some of her pills. She took them with her coffee while she sat at the bar. Gunn leaned against the counter. "Are you okay Cordy?" He asked

"I'm just scared."

Gunn's eyes widened. "I didn't think you were afraid of anything."

"I'm afraid of this." She whispered "I'm afraid someone will suck my brain out of my head and that I'll just be a body." She was horrified to feel the tears brimming. "I'm afraid that people will be able to do whatever they want to me and I… I'm afraid of what they'll do."

"Cordelia," Gunn put his mug down. "You know Angel, Wes, and I would never let anything bad happen to you. We'll stop this thing and even if it did happen we'd make sure-"

Cordelia shook her head. "You don't understand. I'd be at your mercy. I know you guys would never hurt me, but you could. If this thing happens you could do whatever you wanted to me and I wouldn't even be able to not like it. That's horrible enough. Just that you could."

Gunn nodded. "I understand."

"Do you?" She demanded

"I do." He said "We'll stop this. All of us will work together and we'll stop this."

Cordelia gave him a weak smile. "I know. Listen, crash on the couch and then in the morning tell the gang you had to stay with me because I heard a spooky noise. Then you can avoid the dead teenagers." Gunn smiled in appreciation while Cordelia headed to her room.

…

Buffy burst through the door of the Magic Box in time to see Rose pick a stake up from a pile on a shelf and head toward Spike. Buffy grabbed Rose by the shoulders before the witch had time to react to the newcomer and tossed her into a bookshelf. Rose levitated the stake and sent it hurtling toward Buffy, who easily batted it aside. Ethan backed away from the conflict, not wanting to have another confrontation with the slayer. Rose raised her hand and sent Buffy flying into the door, the bell clanging in protest. Buffy picked up the nearby stake and threw it at Rose, who waved her hand and made it reverse direction. Anya went over to a collection of antique mystical swords as Buffy dodged the stake. Anya called out Buffy's name and then tossed her the sword. Buffy charged at the witch, who raised her hand again. She let the sword hit her and when the metal met the flesh of her hand it started to melt. Buffy dropped the useless hilt and was punched in the face by the witch, whose touch left a burn mark on Buffy's cheek.

Spike had at this point collected himself and he ran at Rose. Rose turned and swung her hand, sending Spike into another shelf. Buffy grabbed the witch and picked her up before throwing her out the front door. Buffy grabbed another sword and then with her other hand grabbed Ethan and threw him toward his girlfriend, who was struggling to her feet. Buffy drove the sword through Rose's hand. Rose screamed in pain while Ethan quickly backed away, desperate to avoid a similar fate. "Stay away from this place." Buffy said in a voice devoid of any and all emotion "If you come back I will kill you." She kicked Rose in the gut and then went back into the magic shop, slamming the door shut behind her. "What happened?" She demanded

The vengeance demon grinned. "That was beautiful slayer."

"Who are you?" Buffy asked

"No longer necessary. It seems you can handle the situation." Liyanna teleported away

"Wait!" Anya protested "What am I supposed to do with this?!" She held up the scroll.

"What is it?" Buffy asked

…

Fred felt her eyelids getting heavier. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and tried to focus on the page as it got blurrier. She felt a hand on her shoulder and then looked up to smile at Wesley. "What's up?" She asked before a large yawn took over her vocal chords

Wesley smiled at her. "Why don't you go upstairs and get some sleep?"

"I think the research is more important."

"But sleep is necessary for survival and if we find anything I'll come get you."

Fred noticed that Tara was asleep and that her head was in Willow's lap while Willow poured through a volume with her hand on her lover's hair. "Look at that." Fred said

Wesley turned around. "What?"

"They're so comfortable together. They're so in love."

Wesley sat down next to Fred. "Are you scared?" He asked

She shook her head. "I know we'll beat this. We always beat the bad guys." Fred looked at his face, at the worry that leaked from his pores. She kissed his cheek. "Are you scared?"

He nodded. "I'm terrified."

Fred tugged on his sleeve and when he looked at her she kissed him. "Don't be."

"I keep thinking about the girl I knew at school." Wesley said

"You told me she was a horrible bully." Fred said

"She was, but she was also an innocent child who was corrupted by the cruelty of people charged with her safekeeping. I can understand why she decided to hurt people even though I disagree with it. But I can't understand why she would want to do something like this to herself."

"Me neither," Fred said "But it doesn't really matter. All that matters is stopping her."

Wesley nodded. "You're right." He rested his head on her shoulder and without meaning to he drifted off to sleep. Fred grinned as she went back to her book.

…

Buffy examined the scroll while Anya moaned about her merchandise. "So much money lost, there is no way to make a profit on just the hilt of an enchanted sword." She mourned

"I can't read this." Buffy said "What does it do?"

Anya dragged her attention away from her inventory. "It is a terrible curse."

"What kind of curse?" Buffy asked impatiently

"It will remove the free will from every woman on earth." Anya said "We have to destroy it before they or anyone else comes here and tries to perform the rites."

Buffy gripped the scroll and tried to tear it in half. It did not tear. "If it were that easy someone would have tried it by now, don't you think slayer?" Spike asked in a derisive tone

Buffy backhanded Spike. He fell against the counter. "What was that for?!"

"What are you doing here Spike?" Buffy's voice was cold.

"What am I doing here?! I was bloody well trying to help you!"

Buffy stared at the scroll. "By taking on someone you couldn't fight? They were human."

"No way that bitch was human." Spike said "That kind of power would drive any mortal clear out of their skull. She had to have at least some demon in her. She had to." Spike insisted

"No," Buffy said "She was human."

"And she is out of her skull." Anya said "Considering what she's trying to do."

…

Faith straddled a chair while she sharpened a knife. She was in the room of the Hyperion that she had claimed as her room. She wasn't any use to the research party and she couldn't sleep for some reason, so she was doing this pointless task. She heard a knock on her door and got up to answer it. She slipped the knife into her belt before she opened the door. Wesley stood there, looking dead on his feet. "Oh good, you're up." He said before stifling a yawn

"I am." She said, amused "You barely qualify."

"Yes, I'm going to sleep here tonight. I thought we could get up early and train."

"Sure," Faith said "I'm in great shape, but my technique's a little rusty."

"And you'll need to be in peak condition if you're going to be facing threats like the one the other day. You handled that remarkably well, but there is always room for improvement."

"I'm all about the improvement these days." Faith said

Wesley caught sight of the knife on her hips and he shuddered involuntarily. The playful smile on Faith's lips slipped away. "You know you don't always have to be armed. We have the occasional attack, but all in all the hotel is a safe place. You can relax here, or try to at least."

Faith turned red. "No I- I was just- I'll get rid of it." Faith pulled the knife from her belt and was horrified to see Wesley flinch again. She tossed the knife onto her bed and then turned back to him. He tried to stay composed, but she knew he was rattled. "I'm sorry." She whispered

"It's fine. It's not as though you were told you're not allowed weapons up here. This is your room and you can have whatever you want- within reason- up here. I just…"

"I'll uh…" Faith looked down at the floor. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Yes, goodnight Faith." Wesley walked away and then she shut the door.

Faith walked over to her bed and picked up the knife. Her vision began to blur with tears and in anger she threw the knife at the wall. The blade went in and the handle protruded from the wall like a garish decoration. Faith laid down on the most comfortable bed she had been in for a very long time. She put her face into the pillow and wept. When she heard another knock on her door she tried to pretend she didn't hear it. The knocker was persistent so she got up and attempted to wipe the tears from her face before she ran over and opened the door. Angel stood there looking uncomfortable. "I wasn't eavesdropping I swear, but I heard you crying."

"That's perfect." Faith rubbed her hand against her hot face. "Because I needed a little more humiliation. You must think I'm some pathetic self-pitying child. You'd be right."

"I'd be wrong. And I don't think that."

"I bet the whole hotel can hear me." She said bitterly

"These walls are pretty thick." Angel knocked on one for emphasis. "It was just the vampire thing. I'm sure everyone else is sound asleep. Can I come in for a second?"

"Angel this is your hotel."

Angel smiled at her. "Magic is about how things are perceived as much as about how they are. I couldn't go into Fred's room without an invitation when she moved in. The owner gave her that room to be her own. All you have to do to make this room yours is… believe that it is yours. I already believe it." Angel waited a second and then reached out toward her.

Faith's eyes widened when his hand was stopped by some force. "Wow,"

"I guess this is home." Angel said

"I guess it is." Her face broke into a grin. "Come in Angel."

…

Wesley opened the door to his room and was surprised to see Fred on his bed. "Fred?"

She sat up. "Oh, I fell asleep."

"Er, I guess I went into the wrong room."

"No, I wanted to talk to you and you weren't here. So I thought I'd wait but I was tired so I decided to lie down for a moment. I guess I was really tired." She gave him a shy smile.

He smiled in return. "Well I'm all ears."

"What?" She tilted her head.

"What did you want to talk about?" He asked

"Oh right, you know what? I plum forgot what it was."

"I hope it wasn't too important."

She got up and walked over to him. "It might have been." She kissed him. The kiss was passionate and it was well on the way to becoming more when Wesley gently took hold of her wrists and pushed her back. She gave him a confused expression. "What's wrong?" She asked

"I want to ask you something."

"Okay,"

"Will you go out with me? On a date?"

Her luminous grin took his breath away. "Yes, I will. When?"

"Tomorrow? If the apocalypse doesn't interfere."

"Tomorrow, you can pick me up here." She started to kiss him again.

He backed up. "Fred?"

"Yes?" She asked

"I hate to contradict perfectly good stereotypes, but I'm really tired and I…"

Fred smiled. "Sorry," She said "I guess I'm a little rusty at the dating thing. It's been a while since I was in a relationship. You know, hell dimension and all. I'm supposed to let you take the lead on this right?" She was so beautiful, she took his breath away.

Wesley shook his head. "No, and if you do this might not ever go anywhere. How about you take the lead and I'll tell you if I need to stop and catch my breath?" He suggested

"Okay," She leaned forward and kissed the tip of his nose. "Goodnight Wesley,"

"Night Fred," He told her departing figure

…

Buffy was surprised to find Xander in her living room when she got home. He was playing cards with Dawn. "Hey," Buffy said "I didn't know you were coming over."

"Dawny called me." He explained "You weren't here when she got home and she felt a little lonely. Well that's what she said. I think she just wanted to rub her superior card-playing skills in my face." Xander grinned at the high school student. Dawn blushed at his praise.

"Thanks," Buffy said "I appreciate it."

"Where were you?" Xander asked in a light-hearted tone

"Saving your fiancée from a witch who wanted to kill her." Buffy headed for the kitchen as though that comment warranted no further discussion. She opened the fridge and started to search for leftovers. When she saw the pathetic offerings her fridge had available she gave up.

Xander was colorless as he followed and questioned her. "Is she all right?"

Buffy moved over to the pantry. "She's fine."

"Why didn't she call me?"

"She's busy. She's trying to get in touch with some old demon contacts."

"What happened?"

"There's another apocalypse brewing." Buffy shrugged. "What else is new?"

Xander bit his lip to hold back his frustration. "Could you be a bit more specific?"

"Yeah," Buffy pulled out an empty box of granola bars and then put it back in the pantry before turning to Xander. "Once again the end is nigh. If we don't stop it me, your fiancée, your best friend since kindergarten, her girlfriend, the teenager who can kick your ass in Gin, any other woman you happen to know, and any woman you don't know, will die. Okay?"

Xander sat down on a barstool, his legs no longer able to support him. "My God,"

"I don't think God has a lot to do with it." Buffy said "I think God is staying away."

"What's next?" Xander asked

"I don't know." Buffy said "I'm going to bed. Can you take Dawn with you tonight?"

"Sure," Xander said "See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Buffy walked away.

…

Gunn felt someone shaking him and his eyes opened immediately. "What's happening?"

"Shhh, it's me."

Gunn blinked and stared at Cordelia. "What's wrong?" He asked

"Nothing," She whispered "Everything's fine."

"Please tell me you didn't wake me up at-" Gunn looked for a clock. "Two-thirty in the morning to tell me everything's fine."

"I'm sorry." She blushed enough for him to see it in the dark.

Gunn sat up on the couch. "What is it?"

"I was afraid." She said "That's why I told you to forget what happened at the hospital."

Gunn stared at her. "Afraid of what?"

"Of being hurt again," She said "You're a good friend, and a great guy. I knew that then, but I thought if I cared too much you wouldn't be anymore. Angel was all of those things before he fired us. So I put a stop to us before we began. I don't know if you still even…"

"Yes," Gunn said "Whatever you're asking, yes."

Cordelia smiled and then leaned in to kiss him. The second her lips touched his he was back in the hospital waiting room. Cordelia was in the hard plastic chair next to him. Her tear-stained face was on his shoulder, leaking hot tears into his shirt. All he could think about was how scared he was, how much this chair hurt his back, and how amazing she smelled. Then she looked up and he was kissing her, or she was kissing him. He didn't know which. Death was too real right now, and he needed to shove it away. He tasted her and she was so alive. Then he was back in her living room, her tongue down his throat and her hands working his belt. He put his hands on her waist and then lifted her shirt over her head. She moved into his lap. "Bedroom,"

In response to that Gunn lifted her up and started that way. "You sure?"

"Oh yeah,"

…

Willow lay awake staring at the ceiling. "Tara?"

"Hm?"

"Are you awake?"

"Am now," She murmured

"Sorry,"

"Whas up?"

"I'm so sorry." Willow said "What I did-"

Willow was cut off by warm lips on her neck. "Willow,"

Willow turned to face Tara. "Yes?" She asked, breathless

"Right now all I can think about is how much I love you. I'm so scared and the world is pressing down on me. It's like I can't breathe. But you're oxygen to me." Tara kissed her.

Tears filled Willow's eyes. "Thank you. I promise I'll do better. I'll be better."

"You're great just the way you are. I wish you knew that before you cast that spell, before you thought you needed more magic to make you special. You are special, just you."

The tears were flowing freely. "I thought… Everything was so scary. Magic made me feel powerful, like I could do it all. You all needed me. Buffy was gone. Then she was back, but it was different. I thought I had to be strong for you all. Magic made me feel strong."

"You are strong. You're an Amazon." Tara buried her head in Willow's neck.

"I don't ever want to be like that again. Help me?"

"Willow?"

"Yeah baby?"

"Do you think your vampire friend will hear if we have sex in his hotel?"

"I don't care if he does."


	13. Young & Beautiful

Faith rubbed her eyes, yawned, and then stretched. As she rose up, pulling her spine along with her, she looked at her watcher. He didn't look tired at all. It was five-thirty in the morning and she couldn't believe he was feeling well rested after less than four hours of sleep last night. "What's your secret?" She asked "Are watchers trained in sleep deprivation?"

He handed her a thermos. "No more so than the average unhealthy American."

She sipped the bitter black coffee. "You should be careful with this stuff. Caffeine isn't good for you, you can die young living off of this stuff." Faith took a big gulp of the brew.

"I think my heart can take it." Wesley said "I've done worse things to myself."

"Yeah?" Faith stretched some more.

"I think I've pissed off enough demons not to have to worry about retirement plans."

"Don't be so negative. Maybe you and that Fred girl will settle down and get the picket fence with the two point four kids in a nice little burb. She looks like the settling type."

Wesley raised an eyebrow. "Do the kids come with the fence?"

"Only if you're one of the first two hundred callers."

Wesley chuckled. "Are you awake yet?"

Faith began to jog in place. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"Right then, two miles to the beach to start out with, then some calisthenics, then two miles back and we're home in time for breakfast. After breakfast we can work on combat."

"Full morning," Faith said

"My father always said idle hands are the devil's playthings."

"Is that right?" Faith asked

"Yes, but he also said children should be seen not heard and it's okay to beat kids if you aren't a drunk and you don't permanently damage them. So I don't listen to all of his adages."

Faith gave him a soft smile, one of camaraderie. "Start your watch watcher boy."

…

Willow and Tara came downstairs, following the scent of sizzling bacon. They entered the kitchen and saw Angel preparing an extravagant breakfast spread. "What's this for?"

Angel smiled at Willow. "I made breakfast for everyone."

Willow shared a look with her girlfriend. "Do you do this a lot?"

"Not really," Angel said "Usually only when we've been out demon hunting all night and the gang is starving. Humans require so much nutrition. I made enough for everybody."

"I like your vampire friend." Tara said as she sat down

"We have to wait for Faith and Wes to get back from training though." Angel said

Fred came running into the kitchen. "Oh! Food!"

"Not until everybody gets here." Angel said sternly

Fred made a pouting face, but then she sat down compliantly. "More research today?"

"Yay," Willow waved an imaginary sports flag.

"I like research." Tara said

"So do I usually." Willow said "But I find our current topic depressing."

They heard footsteps and turned to see Cordelia and Gunn enter. The first thing Angel noticed was that they had both showered extremely well and were wearing way too much perfume and cologne respectively. Angel tried not to smile. "You guys drove in together?"

"Gunn crashed on my coach because he was too tired to drive home." Cordelia said

"No, it was because Cordelia heard a spooky noise." Gunn gave her an aggravated look.

"I told him that so he would stop being all macho and not cause a traffic fatality."

Gunn scowled. "Oh, breakfast." His scowl vanished.

"No." Angel said sternly "We're waiting for Wesley and Faith."

"Hey," Cordelia said "If they want to sleep in-"

"They've been up since five-thirty." Angel said "Training,"

Cordelia scowled. "I can't believe he's actually training her. Because when _I've_ been tortured by someone I want them to get better at it. Does he have a death wish? Someone needs to talk to him about what does and does not constitute as suicidal insanity." She said

"Cordelia," Angel said

"No, don't Cordelia me. I'm not going to stop bringing it up. She tortured him. I saw him when he came into the office the next day. He looked like a refugee. I get why we have to save her life, but why are we trying to turn her into a more effective weapon? She could turn evil again at any moment. Don't say that's not true, because it is. Someone who can 'turn good' with that little effort can go back to evil just as easily. One bad day and she'll decide to kill us all."

"Cordelia turn around." Angel said

Cordelia did so and then turned red. Wesley and Faith were standing right there, covered in sweat. "Why do you keep walking in when I'm saying things I don't want you to hear?"

Wesley shrugged. "Maybe you should say things to my face instead of behind my back."

"Okay, fine. I think what you're doing is stupid." Cordelia said

"Thank you for telling me." Wesley said "I appreciate your concern as a friend."

"I am concerned about you." Cordelia said "You were all suicidal in that other dimension and I don't think hanging out with people who have tried to kill you in the past is a healthy way to cope with that. I don't think it's healthy for you or any of the rest of us. If she goes crazy and tries out those Kung Fu moves you're teaching her on us that won't be good for anybody."

"Okay," Angel said "That's enough. This is not the appropriate time or place to have this conversation and you know that Cordelia. Come on guys, I made eggs." Angel held up the plate.

"I'm not hungry." Faith said "I'm going up to my room."

"The hell you are." Wesley said "I said I would train you, but I'm not going to waste my time on someone who gets tired or uncomfortable and quits. You're going to sit down and have a nice large healthy breakfast. Then you'll have all the energy you need to get through the grueling exercises I have planned for you. You can't run away every time someone is mean to you."

Faith frowned. "You make it sound like I'm being childish. She's the one who won't even give me a chance to make things right. She humiliated me in front of all these people and now you want me to sit down and have breakfast with them? How is that remotely fair?"

Wesley picked up a fork and handed it to her. "No one said redemption is easy Faith."

Faith scowled, but she sat down and took the plate that Angel handed her. Fred had made two plates while this had been going on and handed one to Wesley before pulling him over to a chair next to her. Cordelia glowered as she sat down between Angel and Gunn. Faith took the seat farthest from Cordelia, which just so happened to be right next to Tara. Willow was not overly comfortable with this seating arrangement, but she wasn't about to start another confrontation over the reformed slayer. They all sat in uncomfortable silence and ate Angel's delicious eggs. "These are so good." Fred gushed "You should cook every morning."

Everyone mumbled agreement and then the awkward silence resumed. Faith was elated when the delicious breakfast was over and she could flee the kitchen. She made it halfway to the staircase before her watcher called after her. "Aren't you forgetting something?" He asked

She sighed and then turned around. "Combat training?"

He tossed her a pair of boxing gloves. "Kickboxing,"

"We're going to spar?" She asked "Are you serious?"

"Of course not, I have very old books to read. You and Gunn are going to spar."

Gunn started. "We are?"

"I was under the impression that you weren't enjoying the research." Wesley told him

"You got that right." Gunn said "Bring on the violence."

"No," Cordelia said "No way is he fighting psycho slayer."

"Cordelia you are perfectly entitled to your opinion, but you have no say in this. If Gunn is willing to fight Faith then he's the ideal sparring partner." Wesley said "Besides, she's not going to hit him. We'll be focusing on defensive moves today, how to hold one's ground."

Faith put her gloves on. "Don't go easy on me Charlie." She warned Gunn

"Wait." Gunn said "I'm supposed to hit a girl but she can't hit back?"

"Don't worry." Wesley said "You won't be able to land a hit."

Gunn looked offended. "We'll see about that."

…

Noon rolled around and while everyone but Gunn and Faith was absorbed by a book he was still trying to get his glove to connect with her flesh. "I have tussled with some of the worst vamps to ever stalk the streets of L.A. but you're something else." Gunn said

"I'm the chosen one." Faith said simply, like it was no big deal

"Buffy's the chosen one." Cordelia called out from where she was reading

"This is bad." Angel whispered to Wesley "The last time Cordelia said something nice about Buffy was when she was dead. I think Cordelia's really pissed."

"Well she has a right to be." Wesley whispered back

"She does? I thought you were on Faith's side."

Wesley gave Angel a disappointed look. "I'm not on anybody's side, and you shouldn't be either. Cordelia is our friend and her feelings are valid ones. We don't have to agree with her, but we do have to respect her decision not to forgive Faith for what she did to her."

"But… You forgave her. And what she did to you is way worse."

"I forgave Faith because I wanted to, not because anybody pressured me to. If you want Cordelia and Faith to come to terms with each other you have to let it happen on its own."

"What do we do until then?" Angel asked

"Damage control, which is your responsibility tonight because I have a date."

…

Fred frowned at the mirror. "Stupid curls," She complained

Fred left her room and then walked down the hall to the witches' room. She knocked on the door, which was opened by a very surprised Willow. "Hi," She said "How can I help you?"

"This is kind of embarrassing, but I'm having sort of a hair emergency."

"Like a spell brought a clump of hair to life and now it wants to kill you?" Willow asked

"Erm no, but does that happen a lot?" Fred asked

"Not a lot," Willow said "So what's the emergency?"

"Well I have a date tonight and my hair-"

Willow's eyes widened with comprehension. She grabbed Fred's shoulders and pulled her into the room. "Tara! We have a willing victim!" Willow led Fred toward the bathroom.

"Victim?"

"It's just a joke." Willow assured her

Tara came out. "What's up?"

"Fred's going to let us do her hair!" Willow said

…

Wesley stood awkwardly in his formalwear, feeling like a jerk. He had traipsed through this lobby covered in demon slime a thousand times, and now he was standing in it wearing a tuxedo and holding a flower. He just knew Gunn was going to walk by and start making fun of him, which was no more than he deserved. "Hey Wesley," Wesley turned around and his breath caught in his throat. Standing at the top of the stairs was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his entire life. She was wearing a simple yet elegant dress and her hair was done up in a style he could only describe as whimsical. "Is that for me?" She asked as she descended the stairs

"Huh?"

"Is that flower for me or do you have another date tonight?"

"What? Oh, oh no. It's just you." He handed her the flower. "You're more than enough."

She smiled and then sniffed the flower. "Thank you, it's beautiful."

"Seemed fitting," He said "A beautiful flower for a beautiful lady."

"And what if I weren't beautiful?" She asked "What would you have gotten me?"

Wesley leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss on her soft lips. "I can't imagine you as anything other than beautiful. You were beautiful from the moment I first saw you."

"You first saw me as a dirty wild girl with a fistful of blood." She said

"The fact that you were saving my life might have skewed my perception, but even then I thought you were a vision of loveliness. Although I was soon distracted by being taken captive."

Fred giggled. "And I spent all that time worrying about how I would look tonight."

"Well I won't say you wasted your time." He said "I would have found you stunning no matter what you had done, but I certainly appreciate your efforts." He kissed her cheek.

She blushed. "Shall we go?"

He offered her his arm and she took it, following him outside. Willow and Tara sighed at the same time from where they were hiding on the upstairs landing. "So romantic," Tara said

"Yeah," Willow said "Why don't we go on a date?"

"We have to keep reading musty books and be ready if Buffy finds the trio." Tara said

Willow sighed and then leaned her head against Tara's shoulder. "Fine,"

Tara wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. "Didn't they make such a cute pair?"

"Almost as cute as us." Willow agreed

The witches didn't know that Cordelia and Gunn were downstairs in their own hiding place discussing the couple that had just left. "They'll be good for each other." Cordelia said

"Yeah," Gunn agreed "Wes needs a girl."

Cordelia snorted. "He needs to get laid." She said

Gunn frowned. "I don't think Wes is attracted to Fred just because of her fantastic body."

"No," Cordelia agreed "He has a nerd-on for her braininess. But her fantastic- Wait a minute, what do you mean her fantastic body? I have a fantastic body. What are you saying?"

Gunn backtracked. "When I said fantastic I meant in comparison to women far less attractive than you. You are, of course, the fairest in all the land. The very fairest my queen."

Cordelia smiled. "Now who's trying to get laid?" She asked seductively

"Not in the hotel," He whispered "Angel will smell us."

Cordelia sighed. "Fine, but drive fast."

…

Faith lay sprawled out on her bed. As she slept she dreamed. Faith had dreamed the prophetic dreams of slayers before, as well as dreams of the lives of past slayers, but she had never gotten used to them. She did not find them at all enjoyable. In this dream she saw a dark-haired woman holding a china doll with no eyes. "Hello my sweet," The woman said to her

"Hello," Faith said "Who are you?"

"I can show you the future." The woman's game face emerged, revealing her a vampire.

Faith backed up. "No thanks."

"Do you want to hold her?" The vampire held out the doll.

Faith continued to back up and then stopped when she realized she was on the ledge of a cliff and another step would send her tumbling to her death. "Leave me alone." She demanded

"It's easy to see if you know where to look. The future is the same as the past."

"Go away. You're not real. None of this is real."

"You're real." The vampire pointed out "That's why you don't want to fall."

Faith looked down and saw lava. "It's just a dream."

"When you wish upon a star, it makes no difference where you are."

"What?"

The vampire shoved Faith and she fell into the lava. Faith screamed and screamed as she felt the heat melt her flesh. "Faith! Faith!" All of the people she had ever hurt or failed reached up with smoldering fingers and clutched her flesh. "Faith wake up! It's just a dream! Wake up!"

Faith opened her eyes and realized she was panting. She stared at the wide-eyed vampire holding her shoulders. "Angel?" She looked around her dark room. She took a deep breath.

"What happened?" He asked

"I saw a vampire." She said "With dark hair and a doll, she had no eyes."

"A vampire with no eyes?" Angel asked

"No, the doll had no eyes. The vampire could see just fine."

"It was just a dream." Angel assured her "You're safe here."

"No," Faith said "None of us are safe."

…

Willow and Tara were sitting so close together that they could have been on a twin bed instead of a full-sized one and been just as comfortable. They were each reading different volumes, but they had their free hands intertwined. Willow frowned at a page. "I think I might have found something." Willow sat up. "This is it!" She gave Tara an eager grin.

Tara smiled back. "Does it say how to destroy the scroll?"

"No, but it explains the exact rites that must be observed. We know what we have to prevent from happening. There are three complicated rites that must be performed."

"What's the first?" Tara asked

"To activate the scroll a human with mystically potent blood must be sacrificed at an altar cleansed with the blood of the innocent on hallowed ground. The sacrifice must be performed by a wizard who must first take the blood of the sacrifice into his own veins and then wait at least a year before performing the sacrifice. Well that's great! Even if the bad guys do get their hands on Faith they have to do the blood sharing thing and then wait a year! We'd have a year to rescue her and that's only the first rite. They'll never be able to activate the scroll." Willow said

Tara sighed with relief. "We should still find a way to destroy it though."

"Of course, but we don't have to be as scared now."

Tara kissed Willow's neck. "And we don't have to work quite so hard."

Willow grinned and then put her book down. "Fantastic idea,"

…

Rose smiled as she stood on the sidewalk staring through the large glass window of the fancy restaurant, watching her old schoolmate. "He can do it." Rose said happily

"But he won't." Ethan said as someone bumped into him due to their invisibility charm

"He will if he's sufficiently motivated. I'm a great motivator."

"Hm," Ethan watched the young woman lean over to whisper something in her date's ear and then sneak a piece of ravioli off of his plate. "What are you thinking? Threaten the girl?"

"Don't be so passé love." Rose said "That's old hat. Every movie villain has tried it and I refuse to bring about the apocalypse with a cliché. Sacrifice in the name of love is beautiful and what we are trying to do is anything but. His actions must be selfish. They must not revolve around the tight warm thing he is so infatuated with, but around the sacrifice. At the end of the day it is she who must bring about her own demise. He will be but the vessel of it."

"You have a great deal of animosity toward your own gender. Have you noticed that?"

"I'm a very self-aware person." Rose said "Little escapes my attention, least of all that."

"It seems odd that you would direct so much of your vast scorn at a group that you yourself are a member of. Perhaps your loathing is not for them, but for yourself."

Rose turned and smiled at him. "When you hate yourself as completely as I do you hate every part of yourself. As I hate all of my parts I also hate those that share them with me."

"Do you then hate a beating human heart?" Ethan asked

"Yes, and all who have one. When we are done, no human heart will beat."

"You are quite the monster."

"Isn't that what you love about me?" Rose asked

"Yes, and I am constantly amazed by just how monstrous you are."

She gave him another smile. As they left, still invisible, people who they passed by thought they could make out the faint notes of a song. "Lovely ladies waiting in the dark, ready for a thick one or a quick one in the park. Long time short time any time my dear, cost a little extra if you want to take all year." The people who could make out the words shivered.

…

Liyanna watched the young man shift from foot to foot in the dark alley, throwing glances over his shoulder at the slightest sound. She grinned. "How dare you call me forth?"

Jonathan almost jumped out of his skin. He whirled around and looked at her. "P-P-"

"I have not time for games foolish mortal. Speak or die."

"I-I-" He swallowed. "I found out what it is. The scroll that you mentioned, I found some powerful spell books- well I stole them- and I- but the person that they belong to is a rat- looked up the- well she's a statue, but her daughter's a rat- scroll and I found out what it does."

"Why should this interest me?" Liyanna asked

"I want to stop him. Warren hasn't given up. He still wants to cast that spell and now that I know what it does I can't be a part of that. This isn't fun anymore. This is sick and wrong."

Liyanna's eyes traveled over him, coming to a stop at his frightened eyes. "You would stand up for what is right? You, who have caused harm and destruction? Why?" She asked

"I was just playing around. Please, I'm sorry. But this is different."

"It is different." Liyanna said "And you can help. Tell me what this Warren plans to do."

"I don't know. He won't tell me anything."

Liyanna continued to stare into his eyes. Her emerald ones bored into his muddy ones and he got the frightening notion stuck in his head that she could see his soul. "You are no great scholar, and though you have power it is not mighty. Your heart is good, but it is weak. Yet you might be the only thing that stands between humanity and damnation. You must use the few and weak skills at your disposal to find out what Warren's plan is. Then summon me again. I will come and you will tell me what you have found. If you fail, know that the scroll does not affect demon kind and I will blame you for what the others brought about. I will rip out your spine."

Jonathan swallowed. "I won't fail."

"That is good." She vanished.

…

Wesley unlocked the door to his apartment. "I'm finally going to get to see what your apartment looks like." Fred said "I only saw it that one time from the hall and it was all dark."

Wesley flicked the lights on. "No more darkness."

She kissed him and he could taste the raspberry sauce from her dessert. She looked around the apartment. "It's nice. It's so clean and organized. It looks like nobody lives here."

Wesley flinched. _'You don't have much of a presence Wesley.'_

"What's wrong?"

Wesley shook his head in an attempt to dislodge his mother's voice. "Nothing,"

She smiled. "Where's that drink you promised me?"

"Coming right up." He said as he made his way to the kitchen

Fred hung back in the living room and looked around for a distinct attribute of the apartment that let her know who lived here. She saw a framed picture of Wesley with Angel and Cordelia in their old offices. She picked it up and then set it down. There were no other pictures in the living room. There were no graduation pictures, no shots taken at family outings. This was the apartment of the character in a sci-fi movie who was cloned and had no past. But Wesley had a past. He just didn't like to be reminded of it. She heard him approaching her and she turned around to give him a grand smile. "I like this place, it's cozy." She took a wineglass from him.

He smiled back at her and then raised his glass. "Cheers,"

She clinked her glass against his a little too hard and then giggled. "Sorry, I haven't done this in a long time. There are a lot of things I haven't done in a long time." She took a sip of wine and then giggled again. "This is really good." She looked at the wine and watched it catch light.

"Are you okay?" Wesley asked her

She took another sip of wine and then put her glass down. She put her arms on his shoulders, lacing her fingers together behind his neck. "I don't know. Is that all right?"

He put his glass down and then put his arms around her waist. "That's fine."

"Because I can go out to dinner with you all dressed up and fanciful and have a real great time, but then later I can feel like I just crawled out of my cave. I can be as pretty as a nice dress and a complicated hairdo can make me and still feel like I don't belong. I think that's something that will get less and less common, but always be there a little. You know what I mean?"

"I do." He said "I really think I understand. Sometimes I still…"

"What?" Her brown eyes caught hold of his indigo ones.

"Sometimes I still feel like a little kid. But it goes away. Then I'm… me again."

She moved her face so that the tips of their noses almost touched. They were breathing the same air and he could see every imperfection in her skin. "Do you feel like a kid now?"

"I'd have to say no." He said "Feeling very adult at the moment." He blushed.

She kissed him. "Will you still think I'm beautiful in the morning?" She asked

He caught her meaning. "Fred are you sure-"

"Shhh, I'm setting the pace remember. Do you need to stop and catch your breath?"

"Nope, I'm good."


	14. Bad People

The morning sunlight hit Fred's face and her eyes opened. She squinted in pain as the daggers of life stabbed her sensitive eyeballs. She rolled over and gave a squeak of surprise when she saw the person she was sharing this bed with was awake and watching her. Then she let a shy grin take over her face and she moved closer to him to kiss him. She looked over at the nightstand and read the clock. "I think you're late for your early morning run with Faith."

"I couldn't let you wake up and find me gone. What kind of impression would I be giving you if I did that?" He reached out toward her and brushed her hair behind her ear. "Besides, I couldn't tear my gaze away from you. Do you know how beautiful you are when you sleep?"

She grinned at him. "How could I know that Wesley? I'm sleeping."

"Well you're a very attractive sleeper." Wesley said

"I'll keep that in mind." Fred put her hand on his chest. "Your pulse feels like a drum."

He chuckled. "I feel like we're going to learn a lot about ourselves in this relationship."

Fred traced patterns on his skin, not wanting to break her connection with him. "And be late for work a lot. Did you turn your alarm off?" She asked "You're always so early."

"I just forgot to set it." Wesley said "Sorry, I was distracted last night."

"Well that might have been my fault." Fred said "Terribly sorry,"

"I'm not." Wesley said "Even a little bit,"

"Me neither, I was just teasing. That was fun, and you're so nice."

Wesley laughed again. "That's an odd way to describe someone's lovemaking."

She batted him playfully on the shoulder. "I just mean… You're the first person I've ever been with who seemed more concerned with what I was feeling than what he was. Not that I'm overly experienced or anything." Fred sat up. "Oh my God, I just brought up my sexual history the morning after my first night with a guy. I can't imagine a bigger sex blunder. Well I can, but this is up there." Fred turned cherry red and put her hands over her face. "I'm so embarrassed."

Wesley sat up himself. "Why?"

"Well talking about all the sex you've had previously isn't a great way to endear yourself to a new partner." Fred peeked through her fingers at him. "I'm sure you don't want to imagine all the other guys the girl you're with has been with before. I'm making it worse, great."

"You're not making anything worse. Nothing is bad. I don't care what you've done before or who you did it with. If you want to tell me you can. You can tell me anything."

Fred slowly removed her hands and smiled at him. "Yeah?"

He nodded. "Yeah,"

"Sometimes guys expect me to be all innocent. Like I said last night, all of my dating experience was kind of a long time ago. But I remember that. Guys like girls who are sweet and fresh, who feel like a tough prize they won. It kind of bugged me. No one wanted to look past the glasses and my weird quirks. They wanted a cute doll. That's all they wanted. So when they saw the rest of me they decided to go elsewhere. It's not like they were bad or they wanted to use me, they just wanted the farm girl I looked like. They didn't want anybody… worldly." She said

"Worldly?" Wesley asked

"Experienced? Been around the block?" Fred said

"I get it." Wesley said "And I don't care about that. That's a silly thing to care about."

"You think?" Fred asked

"It's so hard to find a person you want to share yourself with. Well it least it always has been for me. If you find someone you feel like you could be with, and stay with, someone who makes you feel good just because they're looking at you, why would you care what brought them to where they are? Why not just be glad you're both in that spot? That you're there together,"

"Is that really how you feel?" She asked "You really don't care."

"I love you." He said "Maybe that's a weird thing to say so early, but-"

Fred stopped his lips with her own. "I think I love you too." She said "Because with you I'm feeling things I don't think I've ever felt before. You make me happy in such an uncomplicated way. You make me feel like I can be myself, like I should be myself."

Wesley laughed again and then returned her kiss. "Please don't ever be anyone else."

"You either,"

"Okay,"

"Promise?"

"Promise," He said

…

Angel looked at the clock. "Should we start worrying about them?"

Cordelia didn't even look up from the paperwork she was sorting. "No,"

"But they're never late. You're late all the time but-" Angel stopped himself when Cordelia sent him a withering look. "They've never been late before. I think it's worry time."

"Trust me," Gunn said "They're fine."

"I'm with intimidating last name guy on this one." Willow said

Gunn chuckled. "Thanks botanical first name girl."

Tara giggled. "That's a good one honey. I'll remember that one. My botanical girl."

Willow smiled and kissed her girlfriend on the cheek. "Then I'll start calling you my earth girl. Terra Tara, what do you think?" Willow teased as she picked up her book

"Terra Tara and botanical girl, we sound like superheroes."

"Oh brother," Cordelia said "Why are all of the people I know nerds?"

"Join us." Tara said "We have cookies."

"Cookies?" Fred's voice came from the front door. "Who has cookies?"

Wes and Fred walked in together. "Oh, sorry Fred. They're metaphorical cookies."

Fred frowned. "I much prefer eatable cookies."

"So," Cordelia said mockingly "Traffic was bad huh?"

"Terrible," Wesley said without missing a beat "American city planning is a disgrace."

"Um-hum," Cordelia gave Wesley a look that was easy to read.

"How was your date?" Willow asked eagerly

"It was wonderful." Fred said "The restaurant was so nice and there was a string quartet playing real music, not radio music. Instead of a desert menu there was a desert cart, and you just picked what looked best right off the cart. Isn't that amazing? The food was so good and Wesley was so handsome and I looked so elegant with my dress and my hair- Thanks so much for helping me with my hair. We talked and we never ran out of things to talk about and everything was just so very wonderful." Fred realized that everyone was staring at her. "What?"

"Do you have an oxygen reserve?" Cordelia asked "Or do you just not need air at all?"

Wesley had been grinning at Fred the whole time she spoke, unaware of anything but how captivating she was. Now he turned to Cordelia and sent her a disapproving look. "Is Faith in her room?" Wesley asked "I suppose I should apologize for missing our training session."

"You say these things just to piss me off don't you?" Cordelia asked

"She's in her room." Angel said "She went on a run without you."

"Well that's good. I'll be back." Wesley went upstairs.

Fred was surprised when Willow and Tara each grabbed one of her arms and dragged her away mumbling some excuse about needing her to analyze an equation. "Spill." Willow insisted

"What?" Fred asked

"My best friend is engaged and my other best friend is very single. I need gossip."

Tara nodded emphatically. "How was it?"

"Guys I don't know if I should-"

"Please." Willow begged "We're so bored. We've been doing all of this research."

"Boring research about sad things with no cuddles." Tara said

Fred giggled. "Okay, but don't tell anybody what I say."

"No way," Willow said immediately

"Promise," Tara said

…

Jonathan could feel his heart throwing itself against his breastbone like it was desperate to escape and find a safer home. He was worried that the moment he entered the basement Warren would take one look at him, call him a traitor, and then kill him. Jonathan would never have thought Warren was capable of something like murder, but now that he knew Warren's true intentions there was very little Jonathan didn't think Warren capable of. His rapid heartbeats only got more frantic as he rounded the corner of the staircase and then they stopped suddenly when he saw the woman. He couldn't move. He didn't know if he was even breathing when the creature with upset seas where her eyes should be turned to him. She smiled with something tainting the expression on her face. It was insanity. It was terrifying, and Jonathan's legs turned to jelly. He wanted to run away. He would have if he didn't remember in that moment Liyanna's threat to rip out his spine. "Hello," Rose said politely "I was just explaining our plan to your delightful cohorts. Please, have a seat." Rose stepped back and revealed Warren and Andrew sitting on the couch. They were both apprehensive. They saw the insanity too. "Go ahead,"

Jonathan walked over to a beanbag chair. Warren glared at Rose, his fear not quite able to match his contempt. "Go on." He said "Tell us more about the guy who has to kill the slayer."

"It is a delicate situation. While he slept we gave him the anointment of the executioner, so he may now kill the slayer and it will count as the sacrifice. Unfortunately if she kills one who has been anointed to kill her she is safe from any future attempt to sacrifice her. So when we capture them we must make sure she is completely incapacitated. If she manages to kill the wizard we have selected only the blond bitch will be left. I don't fancy that scenario."

"Me neither," Warren said

"What do you need us to do?" Jonathan whispered

When she looked at him again he had a sudden realization. She knew. He didn't know what she knew, but it was big. She had a knowledge that had wiped the sanity from her mind, like bleach kills bacteria. Her head had been full of creativity and whimsy like a colony of some beneficial bacteria. But then a knowing had overtaken her and turned her mind into a barren wasteland that could support only the most depraved life. She knew so many awful things, and she knew what was in his head and in his heart. He thought she would tell Warren what Jonathan was up to then and there. Her blue eyes were filled with storm clouds and he could see electricity threatening to short the whole thing out jumping from cloud to cloud. Just when Jonathan was about to start confessing and pleading for forgiveness she spoke. "So, you're super villains?"

"Like Lex Luthor!" Andrew said excitedly "Except not rich yet,"

She turned and smiled at the blond boy. "I'm like a super villain too."

"You are?" Andrew asked

"Would you like to know who I am?"

Andrew hesitated and then nodded.

She returned her attention to Jonathan. "I'm the Joker." She whispered "Because I'm crazy!" She jumped out of her chair with a shout and ended up right in Jonathan's face.

He yelped in terror. She giggled in response. Andrew gave an awkward chuckle, trying to tell himself this was all a joke. Warren just glared. "That's great." He said in a bored tone

"I don't need you to do anything." Rose told Jonathan "Just sit tight."

She left abruptly and they all watched her go. "She is crazy." Jonathan whispered

"And scary," Andrew said

"And not a problem for long." Warren said

…

Faith stood in front of her mirror gripping the sink basin. _'Okay, you showed. But how do I know you are really in this? I mean if I kill him, would that help, or just be really funny?'_

There was a knock at her bedroom door. Faith gritted her teeth. She kept staring at her face, waiting for the image in the mirror to make sense. "Faith, are you in there?" It was Wesley.

What the hell was he doing here? _'I was your Watcher Faith. I know the real you, and even if you kill me, there is just one thing I want you to remember.'_ What was anybody doing near the room where they kept the rabid animal? She walked over to the door and opened it.

Wesley looked at her face and his expression became one of concern. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." She mumbled

"You don't look fine."

She rubbed her eyes. "I'm just tired."

"Yes, I'm sorry I missed training this morning. It won't happen again."

Faith laughed. She looked up at Wesley, at his confusion and worry. "I want to go back."

"Go back?" He asked

"I want to go back to prison, serve my sentence."

He hesitated. "Why?"

"I need the bars. I'm a bad person Wes. Cordelia was right. One day… One day I'll snap and I'll hurt someone again. I don't want that to happen, but let's face it. I'm a monster and I'll always be a monster. You saw what I am, what I can do. Do you want to see it again?"

Wesley looked at her eyes and she forced herself to hold his gaze. She wanted him to looked deep into her and see the danger there. "I thought you wanted to be a slayer again."

"That was a mistake." Faith said "A big mistake."

"Well, it's your life. I can't stop you if this is your decision. But I disagree with it."

"Prison is safer anyway. Those guys can't sacrifice me there."

"So you're afraid? Faith we can-"

Faith shook her head. "I have to go back. It's the right thing to do."

"All right," Wesley said "When are you going to tell Angel?"

Faith's heart turned to ice. "I'll talk to him tonight. I just need time to prepare."

Wesley looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry things didn't work out."

She watched him walk away. "Me too," She whispered

…

Rose watched the vengeance demon talk to the young wizard. He was a fool, which was understandable considering his age and status. But she was also a fool and that was less understandable considering what she was. Rose felt very smug as she watched Jonathan dutifully relay her line of bullshit to the vengeance demon who saw the honesty in him and so took the bait for Rose's magnificent trap. Vengeance demons, so obsessed with poetry and balance, trying to make their work seem more beautiful and important than it really was. Liyanna wouldn't be content with just killing Wesley, which she wanted to do anyway. Liyanna would make Faith do it, both because this would protect Faith from future assassination attempts (not true in the slightest, but a convincing enough lie) and because it appealed to her sensibilities. Rose knew what Liyanna would do because she knew the demon would latch onto the first idea she had and not consider any other route. All Rose had to do was intercede at just the right moment.

…

Wesley examined Willow's discovery. "The third rite is concealed, only those who read the scroll can know it. But the first and second rite are here. This is an excellent find."

Willow smiled. "I can be excellent at times."

Wesley returned her smile, though it was an unnatural one. "The first rite is a rather complex sacrifice, it is doubtful they will be able to satisfy all of the requirements. The second is just odd. I suppose it makes sense from the symbolic perspective, but it is very odd."

Willow and Wesley were alone in his office. "Should we show the others?" She asked

"Yes, I believe most of them are in the lobby. This is a superb translation by the way."

Willow grinned as they made their way to the group. "Thanks,"

Wesley handed Willow the book. "Willow has discovered a description of the first two-thirds of the spell. We are fortunate in how complicated the spell is." Fred, Angel, Cordelia, Gunn, and Tara all looked at Willow and waited for her to start reading.

Willow cleared her throat. "So first a wizard has to get the sacrifice's blood in him and wait for a year. Then the bad guys have to find holy ground and bring an altar. The altar has to be cleansed with the blood of an innocent. Then the wizard has to kill the sacrifice. So that's a whole big long thing and that's just the first rite. The second rite is about…" Willow shifted uncomfortably in front of the crowd. "The whole point of the spell is to rob women of all of their power, and so the second rite is about our greatest power. For any species to continue depends on their ability to create life. So the second rite is about men rejecting the power of their mothers."

"Creepy," Cordelia said

"It gets creepier." Wesley assured her

"A man has to murder his mother and remove her womb." Willow said

"That's disgusting." Gunn said

"It gets more disgusting." Wesley said

"He has to paint his hands with her blood and strangle a woman he has had a child with."

"Yuck." Fred shivered. "Why is this spell so gruesome?"

"It was written up by a misogynistic tyrant." Wesley said

"So the whole point of the second rite is a man rejecting the woman who gave him life and a woman he created life with?" Angel asked "That's so stupid. How did this Creon guy expect the human race to go on? He seems like a complete asshole to me, and short-sighted."

"Well yeah," Willow said "Did you think he would have a good reason for wanting to turn every woman on the planet into a lifeless doll? Because I sure as hell didn't."

"No," Angel said quickly "I just don't get it. I mean vampires I get. We like to drink human blood, so we kill humans. It makes sense. A very bad twisted sense, but I understand the logic behind it. Demons who kill people kill people because they like to or need to, but this Creon guy is trying to do something that will hurt him. He is trying to destroy his own race."

"Good job Angel." Cordelia said "You figured out Misogyny doesn't make sense."

"But that's just it." Angel said "Misogyny does make sense."

"What?" Wesley asked

At the same time Willow and Tara both said: "Excuse me?!"

"In the same way that the vampire thing does." Angel said quickly "It's horrible and messed up on so many levels, but it makes sense. Most of humanity's most awful crimes make a kind of sense. The people who commit the crimes hate the people they are committing the crimes against, so they kill them. But this spell instructs someone to reject the ability of the person who gave him life to create life. This person has to in essence reject their own birth. They are rejecting their own right to be alive. How can the person who performs the rite not get that?"

"I get what you're saying." Cordelia said "It's self-loathing as much as anything."

"Of course it is." Wesley said "Hate comes from within. It can't form anywhere else."

For a moment everyone was quiet as they thought about this. "Who was he?" Gunn asked

"Who?" Wesley asked

"Creon? Who was this asshat?"

"He had his future daughter-in-law entombed alive for burying her brother's body after Creon had declared that the man should rot. In their culture to not bury a body was sacrilegious so Antigone did what she felt she had to. Creon's son refused to let the woman he loved die so he went to free her in defiance of his father. But Antigone had elected to hang herself rather than suffer the indignity of starving to death. Creon's son was devastated and took his own life to be with his love. Creon's wife killed herself as well, unable to continue without her son."

There was another moment of silence. "How is that Antigone's fault?" Fred asked

"It wasn't." Wesley said "She was just following religious law."

"So this Creon guy was a dick and his whole family killed themselves?" Gunn asked

"Essentially," Wesley said

"And he decided to blame all women for that?" Cordelia asked "Typical man,"

"Don't say that." Tara whispered "That's part of the problem."

"What do you mean?" Cordelia asked

"It's not okay to generalize people based on gender, either gender." Willow said

"They do it to us all the time." Cordelia said "I get slut-shamed constantly, by people who have no idea when the last time I had sex is. It's like, look at her shirt, what a slut."

"And your solution is to return the favor?" Fred asked

"Well no," Cordelia said "It just makes me feel better."

"That's…. just not helpful." Willow said "It makes things worse."

Cordelia sighed. "So this is all good? They can't complete the spell."

"Yes, this is good." Wesley said "Willow, Tara, if you want to return home and conduct your own research separate from us that would be fine. We have quite a bit of time to figure out how to destroy the scroll. We'll keep you informed on our progress and you can do the same."

"That sounds great." Willow said "I really want to get back to Buffy."

"And Dawn," Tara said "I miss her."

"I miss everybody." Willow said "Even engagement crazy Anya. We've only been gone a few days too. We can never leave Sunnydale huh?" Willow asked her lover with fake sorrow

"Guess not,"

…

Ethan steeled himself for what he was about to do. He took a deep breath, walked up to Giles's door, and then knocked. The Englishman opened his door and then gaped at his caller, before punching Ethan square in the jaw. "Ah! Bloody hell Ripper!" Ethan grabbed his jaw.

"You trashed my shop." Giles said

"Well hell bloody o to you too."

"You tried to kill a friend of mine." Giles continued

"Now for the record that was my girlfriend on both counts." Ethan protested

"Aren't you a little old to be getting involved with a younger woman?" Giles asked

"If I weren't too old for her she wouldn't be a younger woman." Ethan said

"What do you want? And if you don't have a bloody brilliant response I'm going to call the slayer to have her come here and kill you. Or at the very least give you a good thrashing."

"I may have gotten into something a bit over my head Rupert." Ethan said

"Is that right?" Giles asked

"I'm sleeping with a homicidal masochist who wants to destroy the world by stealing the free will of half the inhabitants of it. This might be a bit above by pay grade, sorry to say."

"Did you really not know what she was doing until the Magic Box?"

"I didn't." Ethan said "And when I found out at first I just went with it. But this is a whole new kind of wrong. It's not funny. It's not chaos. It's just… malice. It's awful."

"It's nice to know that even you have a line Ethan." Giles said

"Come on Ripper," Ethan said softly "You know me. I like a good time, but I'm not a heartless bastard. I even thought I might be able to help this girl. But she's a corrupter."

"So you want to help us?"

"I know what she has in store for that boy. She wants to punish him for the sin of knowing her, for being alive. She wants to punish him for daring to escape his suffering."

"What boy?" Giles asked

A force hit Ethan's back and sent him flying into Giles, which sent them both tumbling into Giles's living room. As they moaned and tried to untangle their limbs Rose entered the apartment and slammed the door shut behind her. "Oh love, betrayal? How mundane,"

…

Faith came downstairs to see Willow and Tara off. She avoided Wesley's gaze, which was easy enough to do as he was focused on the departing witches. After reminders to call with any new information had been exchanged the girls left. Then Faith found herself in the awkward situation of sharing the lobby with Angel, Cordelia, Fred, Gunn, and Wesley. "I'm going out for a walk." She said abruptly "I'll be back soon." She made a beeline for the front door.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Angel asked "I could go with you."

"I'll be fine." Faith snapped "Don't wait up." She ran out.

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "What's her problem?"

"She wants to go back to prison." Wesley said

All eyes turned to Wesley. He did not look happy about what he had just said. He looked disappointed, like someone had just taken his new puppy back to the shop. "What?" Angel asked

"She doesn't think she can make it on the outside. She thinks she has to go back."

"Well maybe she's right." Cordelia said "She is a criminal after all."

"Yeah, maybe." Wesley said "I just thought that perhaps she could overcome the things she had been through and use her experiences for good. But sometimes the past is too heavy."

Cordelia frowned. As happy as the idea of Faith leaving and never coming back made her she was starting to realize Wesley's relationship with the dark slayer might be more complicated than she had initially thought. "You're not Faith." Cordelia said "You don't have anything to atone for and you don't owe it to her to help her through this. If she wants to run that's on her."

"We all have something to atone for." Angel said softly


	15. Don't

Rose giggled as she tied up her captives. "This is going to be so fun."

"I'm glad somebody is enjoying herself." Giles muttered

"Don't worry." Rose moved so that she was standing in front of Giles. "If you play your cards right you could end up enjoying yourself lots. But first, where is my bloody scroll?"

"It's always a shame to see such a foul mouth on such a pretty face." Giles said

"You don't even want to know where this mouth has been." Rose said

"Rosie pet, I was just coming here to try and get information." Ethan said "Won't you untie me love? I would never betray you. Come now, why would I do a thing like that?"

Rose climbed onto Giles's lap. "We humans become such pathetic creatures when we are afraid to die." Rose said "Are you afraid to die Rupert Giles? Are you wary of the other side?"

"No," Giles said simply

"It's not fair is it? That you should live while she died? But she came back." Rose said

Giles stared at Rose. "What do you know about it?"

"I know a lot of things about a lot of things. But I don't know where my scroll is and that bothers me. Is it here? If I tore this place apart would that just be a waste of time?"

"You won't get anything out of me." Giles said

"I imagine that's true." Rose conceded "But…" Rose began to scratch at Giles's cheek with the long sharp nail protruding from her index finger. He gritted his teeth and refused to complain about the irritating pain. At first it hurt hardly at all, but the pain grew with each layer that Rose penetrated. Blood started to leak down his face and Rose lapped it up like melting ice cream spilling from her waffle cone. "There is magic in you." She whispered into the hole in his face that was so raw and tender even sound waves hurt it "Can I have your magic, magic man?"

"Go to hell." Giles said

Rose laughed against Giles's flesh. "Do you remember school? Remember academy?"

…

Faith rubbed her shoulders. She wished she had grabbed a jacket before coming out here, but then again she didn't really think her chill had a lot to do with the temperature. She felt like something with cold fingers had gotten trapped inside of her. She shook her head. Things were so much harder out here, in the real world. Prison wasn't real, there were no decisions there to make and so nothing mattered. No freedom meant no responsibility. The alternate dimension hadn't been real either, so that hadn't been so bad. She could do anything there and there would be no repercussions. But now one little mistake could- Faith's train of thought came to an abrupt halt as she went back and looked over her previous thought. No freedom meant no responsibility, was that what Rose was thinking? Was she thinking that doing this one last awful terrible thing would put an end to her awful terrible life? Did she think this would make her innocent again?

Faith began to laugh. She knew she looked like a lunatic, but she didn't care. She laughed and laughed. "Well that's not going to work honey. Your innocence is dead and gone."

A scream broke through Faith's fit of laughter and put her on high alert. On instinct Faith ran toward the direction of the scream. A short woman with brown skin and ebony hair wearing a green shirt and jeans was being attacked by a vampire. There was something about her… Faith shook her head and ran for the vampire. She threw him to the ground and then looked around for some pointy wood. Why the hell didn't she have a stake? That was a much bigger oversight than forgetting her jacket. The vampire kicked her and Faith stumbled back. Faith let the vampire get to his feet and then grabbed him by the shirt and threw him into the wall. His body slammed into the brick wall like a sack of meat. Faith saw a dumpster and ran over, hoping for some crates or even discarded furniture. She saw a chair in the dumpster and yanked it out. The vampire went for her and she swung the chair at him. She smacked him in the face and while he was reeling from that she broke off a leg of the chair and then used it as a stake, impaling the dead thing.

Faith watched with immense satisfaction as the vampire turned to dust. Then a small warm body collided with hers. But it wasn't an attack, it was a hug. "Oh thank you!"

"Hey, take it easy." Faith tried to gently remove the woman, but she was holding onto Faith too tightly for Faith to remove her without hurting her. "You're okay now." She said

"You saved me from that monster! Thank you so much!"

"It's cool. Don't mention it." Faith tried to back up but the woman continued to hold on.

"How can I ever repay you?!"

"You could let go of me." Faith suggested

The woman let go. "I'm sorry." Faith saw that the woman was crying. "I thought I was going to die and then you saved me. I thought I was going…" The woman began to sob.

Oh brother, this was going to be a whole big thing. Faith wasn't sure what the appropriate reaction to this stranger's weeping was, but she doubted it was leaving. "It's going to be okay."

The woman tried to stop her sobs as she rubbed her eyes. "Please, how can I thank you?"

"Just… get home safe. Where do you live?" Faith asked

"Other side of town." The woman said "I was helping a friend paint her apartment and then it got late. I didn't realize how dark it was until I left. I thought I would be okay."

"In Los Angeles?" Faith asked

"I'm an idiot." The woman moaned

"No, well yeah actually." Faith said "Just take a cab."

"I don't have any money." The woman said

"Oh Christ," Faith said "I'll walk you home."

The woman brightened. "Really?"

…

Wesley entered the demon bar cautiously. He wasn't sure what it was that made him feel like he needed to go to Caritas, but he made his way over to the bar anyway. He kept his eye out for a certain green-hued host. "Connections are a funny thing." Wesley jumped and then turned around to face Lorne. Lorne was smiling at him, but his smile was sad. "And each is different."

"Each connection?"

Lorne nodded. "The people in our lives are all there for different reasons and each of them have their own unique effect. Faith is a part of your life, how do you feel about that?"

"I didn't sing yet." Wesley protested "How did you know?"

"The word obvious springs to mind." Lorne gestured to a table and Wesley reluctantly sat down with the empathy demon. "You're uncertain about where the relationship is headed."

"She wants to go back to prison, so I'd say nowhere." Wesley said

"And what do you want?" Lorne asked

"It doesn't matter what I want." Wesley said

Lorne sighed. "That's not what I asked."

Wesley hesitated. "I want to be a watcher. I know the council is an inherently corrupt institution that has done a lot of horrible things, but I trained my whole life to be a watcher and I still feel like the position has its merits even if the institution that created it does not. I felt so lost when I was fired. Watching was always my only purpose. Then I came to L.A. and I found a new purpose, and it is a great one." Wesley fidgeted in his seat. "I still feel incomplete though."

"Perhaps it's not that you're incomplete, but unresolved." Lorne said

"What do you mean?" Wesley asked

"Watching Faith was a job you took on. For the longest time you considered it to be a job that you failed. But maybe it's just a job you haven't completed. Maybe you can still watch her."

"That sounds awful out of context." Wesley noted

"My point is," Lorne said while he gave Wesley a dirty look "You haven't failed Faith because you and Faith are not over. There's still a future. You and she both have equal decision power in what that future will be. It can be good, bad, natural, or some weird combo thing."

Wesley looked at his hands. "How do I convince her to stay? It's probably my fault she wants to leave. If I weren't more focused on my sex life than my job then maybe she-"

"Wesley," Lorne said "Faith didn't decide to leave because you missed one training session and you _need_ to devote some time to your sex life. You need to hold onto it."

Wesley glared at Lorne. "You know, I have on occasion been known to do very for myself in that arena. I was dating a rich heiress for a while there. I'm not hopeless."

Lorne chuckled. "I never said you were. I think you're doing very well for yourself."

Wesley looked up at the demon singing _Take on Me_ horribly out of key. "Now what?"

"Now you go find your slayer and convince her to stay."

"How?"

…

Cordelia pulled a jacket on and grabbed a few weapons. "Where ya going?" Fred asked

"I'm going to look for Faith."

Fred frowned. "Why? Now might not be the best time to unload on her."

Cordelia scowled at Fred. "I'm going to convince her to stay."

This stunned Fred. "You are?"

"Look, I don't like Faith. I will probably never like Faith. But for some crazy reason that I do not understand Wesley needs her. So I'm going to find her and tell her to stay."

Fred grinned. "You are an awesome friend Cordelia."

"I know." Cordelia said in the same tone she would have used to make that reply to someone telling her the sky was blue "Call me if she gets back here, okay?"

"I could go with you." Fred offered

"No it's fine. I really want to do this on my own."

"All right, I'll call you if she comes back."

Cordelia smiled and then left the hotel.

…

Willow made sure the blanket over herself and her girlfriend kept them out of sight of all the other occupants of the bus. "Are you sure we can't just go home?" Tara asked

Willow so wanted to say yes. There were so many things she wanted to do under their sheets on their nice comfy bed. "We promised Giles we would check in with him."

"We could just call him." A tempting proposition.

"We'll just pop in for a few moments and then go straight home." Willow said

"Not _straight_ home." Tara said

Willow snorted with laughter. "We'll go queer home."

…

Faith escorted the woman down the dark street. She had hoped she could carry out her escort duty in silence, but the stranger had other plans. "Are you all right?"

Faith nodded. "Five by five," She muttered

"What's that mean?" The woman asked

"Nothing, it doesn't mean anything." Fred said

"Oh," The woman only paused for a second. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

Faith sighed. "The streets,"

"That must have been tough."

"Not really." Faith said "I was born for it."

"Born for violence?" The short dark-skinned woman asked "That sounds terrible."

Faith shrugged. "It's my lot in life. I'm not complaining."

"You could." The woman said "If you wanted. We're strangers. You can say whatever you want to me and no one will ever know. I don't even know your name. Who would I tell?"

Faith chuckled. "The men in the white coats? You'd try to get me committed."

"That guy… He wasn't human was he?"

Faith stopped and then stared at her rescued damsel. "No, he wasn't."

"Sometimes life doesn't make sense. That guy didn't make sense and you don't either, but you're still real. So what you say might not fit with my reality, but it will still be real."

Faith resumed her previous pace and then shook her head. "Where would I begin?"

"With why you're so sad?" The woman suggested

"I'm not-" Faith gave up her protest halfway through. "It's complicated."

The woman waved her hand dismissively. "Everyone always says that. What isn't complicated these days? Just tell me. I won't judge, and it will feel good to get it out."

Faith hesitated and then gave in. "What the hell? So there's this guy…"

…

Giles shivered. Bloody lips moved over his flesh and tried to stimulate him in ways he very much did not desire to be stimulated. The torture was bad, obviously, but Ethan watching the whole affair made it so much worse. Ethan had seen him naked before, Ethan had seen him covered in blood before. In their Eyghon worshipping days they had seen each other in a lot of awkward positions. They had put each other in awkward positions. They would do almost anything to rebel against the system, and some things just because they wanted to. But even in those days being tied to a chair, tortured, and then molested by one of Ethan's sexual conquests while Ethan watched would have been humiliating. Now it was quite beyond that.

"Mmmmm," Rose moaned "Are you a naughty boy? Must I fetch the headmaster?"

"You are a repulsive girl." Giles said through his shivers

"I am. I'm wretched in every way. You know my daddy knew headmaster."

"What are you babbling about?"

"One time he came over for tea, the important man. But you know, when you see them with their trousers off they're never quite as grand." Rose laughed insanely

Giles heart sank. "Oh you poor devil."

"I never got in trouble. I remember when I tricked head boy into the shed where we kept the sports equipment and locked him inside. He was there all night in the cold, dark, damp, with only the spiders for company. He was shaking when they found him in the morning. Well that's what the boys who found him said. When they realized he was in there they told him they wouldn't let him out unless he gave them something in return. He had to give them his clothes to pay his way out. If he'd taken a moment to think he would have realized it was smarter to wait for a teacher to come along, but he just wanted out of that dismal place. So he gave them his clothes and they let him out. He ran to the dorms stark naked. He got a sound beating for it before all was resolved. The truth came out and I was not punished. I was never punished."

"That's a dreadful story." Giles whispered

"I bet you didn't know that story when he showed up here all naïve and eager to please."

Giles was shocked to hear that statement. "That was Wesley?"

"I tormented him as you would not believe. He just took it every time. He never stood up for himself. I hated him so much for that. All those black eyes and broken wrists. I knew what old Roger was up to. Everybody must have. But no one said a thing about Wesley and no one said a thing about Rose. For we children raised in blood do not deserve salvation." She said

"I'm so sorry terrible things happened to you." Giles said "Maybe if you untie me we can help you. You don't have to do these horrible things. There are other ways to cope."

"Wow, your stirring speech has changed my perspective on life." Rose giggled. "I don't want help. I don't want to cope." She put her bloody lips on his chest and licked him. "I want to make people suffer. I enjoy it. I enjoy the salty taste of blood and I enjoy the infliction and receiving of pain. I enjoy hurting people and I won't stop till I'm gone. I won't be free or innocent until the will is ripped out of me. Until then I will cut and bite and bleed."

"Ethan," Giles said "Never date again. You clearly cannot make good decisions."

Ethan grimaced. "Agreed Ripper, very much agreed."

Rose laughed manically. "Oh boy, oh boy, you two are a hoot."

Giles felt teeth break the skin on his thigh and his warm blood filled Rose's mouth while her tongue explored under the skin. Then she moved to other areas. Giles squeezed his eyes shut and tried to think of something else, anything else. But the only thing he could think of not related to his current humiliation was the idea of that young watcher he had so despised being knocked around by his father and then escaping to school only to be tormented by his peers.

…

Faith finished her story. "Now I don't know what to do."

"You want to make things right." The woman said "With this man."

"Yes," Faith said "I want to make it up to him. But how do you compensate someone for torturing them almost to death? I just…" Faith rubbed her face. "It's a mess, a big mess."

"You wish there was a way to undo what you did." The woman said

"Exactly, I wish I could go back an-" Faith didn't get to finish her statement because at that moment the woman changed appearance. The color leached from her skin, her face contorted into an ugly mass of veins. Her eyes turned green. Faith recognized the vengeance demon who had sent Wesley to an alternate dimension. Faith backed away in horror.

"Done."

…

Cordelia groaned in frustration. Finding one person in a big city when you had no idea where they had gone was not a simple task. "Stupid slayer," Cordelia muttered

She heard the sound of footsteps and turned around. There was nobody there so Cordelia faced the direction she had been headed in again. Faith was right in front of her. "Hey,"

Cordelia yelped. "Christ! You scared the crap out of me!"

Faith shrugged. "Sorry." She didn't sound sorry.

Cordelia put her hand over her heart and waited for her pulse to slow and her breathing to return to normal. "Give me a heart attack why don't you? Why didn't you say something?"

"I dunno." Faith said

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Whatever, I need to talk to you."

"So talk."

Cordelia gave Faith an odd look. "Are you stoned?"

"Nope, what's up Cordelia?"

"Don't leave. I know you think you're going to go all psycho again and try to assassinate everybody and to be honest so do I. But Wesley believes in you, God knows why, and I believe in Wesley. If you leave you'll just be hurting him again. So stay, okay? You owe him that."

Faith's face had stayed expressionless this whole time. She didn't so much as twitch when she questioned Cordelia. "What the fuck are you talking about you ditz?" She asked

Cordelia recoiled. "Excuse me?"

Faith, still expressionless, pulled back her fist and punched Cordelia. Cordy had no time to process or dodge the attack. Faith's fist connected with Cordelia's jaw and Cordy hit the ground like a sack of bricks. The pain was explosive. Cordelia immediately summoned the martial arts training Angel had been putting her through to her mind and remembered what he had said about facing a vastly superior opponent. If both parties know that victory is impossible the only thing to do is avoid the confrontation. Cordelia curled into a ball, trying to keep the number of vulnerable areas exposed to a minimum. "Faith stop! What are you doing?"

Faith kicked Cordelia in her lower back. Cordelia gasped with pain and tears shot out of her eyes. "I'm just going for a walk." Faith said calmly "What are you doing?" She asked

"What happened? Why are you doing this?" Cordelia asked

Cordelia's plan of not fighting back so that Faith wouldn't want to keep attacking her was not working even a little bit. "I'm bored? I don't know. Why the hell wouldn't I do this?"

"Faith this isn't you!" Cordelia said "Please don't do this."

"Oh this is me. I'd love to stay and show you just how me this is, but the mayor has a job for me and I want to wait until I can take my time with you. You annoy the fuck out of me."

Cordelia watched Faith leave and waited until she was sure the slayer was gone before getting to her feet. She ran for the Hyperion with only one thought on her mind. For some reason Faith thought the mayor was still alive and that she still worked for him. When those things had been true very bad events had taken place, events Cordelia did not want to see repeated.

…

Willow and Tara approached Giles's home. "Okay," Tara said with a giggle "We go in, tell him about the rites, and then go. No small talk, no tea, in and then out. Okay?"

Willow giggled, her hand wrapped around Tara's. "I'm right there with you babe."

"Because I love to talk about translations and ancient texts as much as anybody, but I'm so horny I'm afraid I'll explode if I don't get naked as soon as possible." Tara said

Willow tried to stifle her giggling as she got to Giles's door and then knocked politely on the wood. She waited a moment. "I guess he's asleep." Willow said "Problem solved."

Tara frowned. "Don't you feel it?"

"Feel what?" Willow asked

Tara took Willow's hand and held it up, spreading her fingers. Willow felt the trace residue of dark magic in the air. The natural energy flow of this place was disrupted, tainted by something that left a foul taste in the mouth. "Do you think it's that witch, Rose?" Tara asked

"Get out of here." Willow whispered

"No, I'm not-"

"Go get Buffy." Willow said "I'm going in there."

"I-"

Willow gripped Tara's hand tight. "You are the only thing that keeps me steady, the only thing that prevents me from falling into the dark, like she did. Get out of here, because if anything happens to you I'm dead." Willow let go of Tara's hand and gave her a look that brokered no argument. Tara was sorely tempted to argue anyway. But she obeyed her lover.

Willow opened the door. The second she did a powerful force pulled her into the room and landed her on top of a bookshelf. Volumes scattered everywhere. Willow saw Rose standing in the middle of the living room with a bloody Giles and bloody Ethan tied to chairs on either side of her. She leered at Willow. "I'm so glad you're here." Rose said "So very glad."

Willow got to her feet. "You're pretty powerful." Willow said "But so am I."

"You've raised the dead." Rose said "That is power. I'd like that power."

"You'll have to kill me first." Willow said, sounding less afraid than she was

"That's kind of the plan."

…

Cordelia stumbled into the Hyperion. Fred, Gunn, and Angel were all in the lobby talking when she did. Fred gasped while both Gunn and Angel ran for Cordy. "Oh my God!" Gunn said

Angel picked Cordelia up and carried her to the couch. Gunn took her hand. "Are you all right baby?" Under other circumstances his word choice would have thrown her. "What was it?"

"Faith," Cordelia said

"Faith's in trouble?" Angel asked

"No dumbass, Faith's the one who did this." Cordelia said "She beat me up."

"Faith wouldn't do that." Angel said

"Well she obviously did!" Gunn shouted, outraged

Cordelia would have loved to listen to Gunn lay into Angel for trusting Faith when the slayer had done this to Cordelia, but there was an emergency to handle. "She's under a spell or hypnotized or something." Cordelia said "She said the mayor had a job for her. But he's dead."

"I remember." Angel said "Maybe it's a regression spell."

"Did she say what the job was?" Fred asked

"No, but I'd lay odds it's bad." Cordelia said

…

"Faith!" Faith turned around and saw Wesley running toward her.

Faith's grin was predatory. "Hello Wesley."

"I'm glad I found you."

"So am I." She said "I'm very glad."

He smiled at her. "Look, things are weird between us, I know. But that doesn't mean we should just give up. I care about you and I think you care about me. It might seem like our past is always going to stand in the way of us coming to any kind of understanding with each other, but I don't think that's the case. We've both been through a lot and we both have a lot to come back from as well. I think we stand a better chance working together than apart. What do you say?"

"You think I care about you?" Faith asked

Wesley hesitated. "Yes."

Faith grabbed him by the throat. "I don't."

…

Willow stared at her opponent. "Let him go." She pointed at Giles

"What about me?" Ethan asked "I came here to help!"

"A moment ago you said you came here to pump me for information." Giles said through painful breaths "Make up your bloody mind will you?" Speaking hurt, but everything did.

Willow never broke eye contact with Rose. "Let's settle this one witch to another, they don't have to be a part of it. If you have even one shred of decency in you-" A bolt of energy hit Willow in the chest and sent her flying. She crashed into Giles's wall with a painful thump.

"Willow!" Giles cried

Rose approached Willow. "The thing is, I don't." She giggled like a little girl.


	16. Friendly Fire

Wesley was having a flashback, which sucked. He was flashing back to right before she had started hitting him. She had just finished tying the knots and was walking around to the front of the chair and Wesley was terrified, but he still thought Angel was going to burst in and save him before anything happened. It was amazing how much a little torture could warp a person's perception of things. He had been so naïve before she started in on him, but by the time she started threatening him with the homemade blowtorch he was a whole other person. "What's the matter Wes? You look a little freaked." Her fingers were digging into the flesh of his neck and he reached up, grabbing her arm. It was pointless to pull at her, she was too strong. "Oh I'm sorry, am I hurting you?" She threw him against a wall. His head hit the bricks hard and he blinked to keep back tears of pain. She punched him in the gut and he gasped as all oxygen evacuated his lungs. "Gee watcher boy, something seems up with you. Talk to me Wes."

"What are you doing?" He said as he tried to suck in air

"Ummm… Beating the crap out of you?"

"Why?" He asked

"Why? Why? Everyone always wants a why. Can't I just be a bitch sometimes?"

"This isn't you." Wesley said

"Oh this is me. This is Faith. Take it or leave it."

…

Willow struggled to her feet. She felt the magic coming towards her and she put up her hands to redirect it. As she routed the magic through her own energy channels she felt something dark and dirty run through her. She gagged in revulsion. "What's wrong?" Rose mocked

Willow threw out her hand and a dozen or so of Giles's books rushed toward Rose, but the Englishwoman managed to deflect each one before it hit her. Willow pointed up and sparks flew out of Giles's overhead light fixture. They rushed toward Rose and she extended her hand toward the stream with her fingers splayed. The electricity collected at her fingertips and then ran up her arm and throat before she coughed it up. "That's disgusting." Willow said

"Tastes pretty good." Rose said "Try it." Rose pointed at the light fixture and sent a similar stream toward Willow. Willow put up a shield of energy that the sparks bounced off of before dying in the air. "Silly little girl." Rose said "You are sapping your strength instead of adding to it by doing that. I took the power from those electrons you sent at me, you used your power to deflect mine. Never shy away, take strength from you enemies' attacks. That is the only way you will ever grow strong." Rose raised her hand over the ground and the floor under Willow jumped up, crushing her against the ceiling. Willow threw her hands toward Rose and sent her careening into the front door. It broke from its frame at her impact. Willow fell back to the ground while Rose got to her feet and reentered the room. Before Willow could get back up Rose grabbed her knife from Giles's coffee table and levitated it over her hand. Using her eyes Rose directed it at Willow. Willow barely managed to leap out of the way.

"Get out of here!" Giles commanded Willow "Just go!"

"She won't go." Rose said as she called the knife back to her "Even if I would let her, which I won't, she would never leave you." The knife hovered over Rose's hand. "She is too good, and pure, and noble. It makes me sick, to see someone so full of light, and love, and-"

The knife hovering over Rose's hand changed its orientation and then drove itself into Rose's abdomen. Willow was staring at the spot with intense focus. "You were saying?"

…

Fred led Cordelia upstairs to look after her injuries while Angel and Gunn went out to look for Faith. At first they were both silent, as neither of them had any desire to discuss what was on their minds. But then something struck Gunn. "Hey! Where's Wesley?"

Angel stopped. His heart could not beat, but he felt it chill. "He said he was going out."

"But he didn't say where? Maybe we should call him."

"Yeah, he should know about Faith. He can research possible spells." Angel said

"And watch his back." Gunn said

"That too," Angel agreed

…

Faith dragged Wesley along the street by his arm. Whenever he tried to pull away she gave him another punch in the gut so after a while he stopped trying. They approached a building that looked abandoned and she pulled him inside. In a large empty room she shoved him to the floor and then kicked him when he tried to stand. He was forced to remain on his hands and knees, desperately trying to catch his breath. "Now we get to have a little fun Wesley."

…

Willow reached out and the knife flew into her hands. Rose pressed against her wound with a huge smile on her face. "That's my girl." She said "I'd love to stay and play, but I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date. We will meet again." Rose clapped her bloody hands together and disappeared from the room. For a moment Willow stood there panting, stunned.

"Excuse me," Ethan said like an impatient restaurant patron "Would you mind terribly untying me? These ropes do tend to chafe one's skin and my wrists are aching terribly."

"Willow," Giles said in a very kind voice "It's all right." Willow looked down at the knife in her hands, covered in the blood of someone she had stabbed with her mind.

A figure burst through the doorless doorway. "Giles!" Buffy cried

"Well you're a little late to the party slayer." Ethan said

Buffy ran to Giles. She looked at the knots binding him and then at Willow, who was still holding the bloody knife. "Can I get a little help Will?" Buffy stood up and started toward her.

"What?" Willow croaked

Buffy's face melted into concern. "It's okay." Buffy put her hand over the knife and gently peeled Willow's fingers back. Buffy took the knife and then used her other arm to wrap Willow into a hug. "It's going to be okay." Buffy let go of Willow and then went over to Giles to cut him loose. Buffy debated whether or not to comment on the cuts and bite marks that marred her watcher. She pulled the ropes away. Giles got up and then winced at the pain of the action.

Willow approached. "I could…" She raised her hands. "I could help."

"Are you sure?" Giles asked "You're not too tired?"

Willow walked over to Giles and then lightly placed her hand over the hole in his cheek, which made him flinch despite her careful gentleness. After a moment she removed her hand and the wound was gone. Then she put her hand back and closed her eyes. Buffy's eyes widened as she watched the visible marks on Giles slowly fade. The cuts began to close, the bruises began to lighten and shrink. Before the marks were completely gone, all but the deepest cuts were closed but most still had a visible presence, Willow's eyelids fluttered and she started to sway.

Willow's hand fell away from Giles's cheek and he caught her before she collapsed to the ground from overexertion. "Willow!" He laid her gently on the couch. "Oh dear sweet Willow I should not have let you do that." Giles felt for a pulse and then breathed a sigh of relief.

"Is she all right?" Buffy asked

"She's fine." Ethan called from his chair "I'm still tied up."

Buffy jerked her thumb toward Ethan. "Can I kill him?"

"Only if he persists in his incessant prattling." Giles said casually

That shut Ethan up. Tara came running in. "Are they- Willow!" Tara ran over to the couch and Giles moved so that she could kneel by her girlfriend. "Oh Willow!" Tara kissed Willow's hand. "Oh baby," Tara laid her hand flat on Willow's chest and it began to glow.

After a moment Willow's eyes opened and she smiled at Tara. "No dark," She murmured

Tara kissed Willow's brow. "It's all light." Tara kissed Willow's lips.

"I must apologize profusely." Giles said "Her condition is entirely my fault. I was injured and despite just having completed an intense battle and needing rest Willow attempted to heal my wounds, which I should not have allowed. I am to blame for your distress."

Willow gave Tara a weak smile. "Silly British man is contrite."

Tara's eyes were leaking tears and when she laughed it was a mournful sound. "Yeah,"

"Will somebody _please_ untie me?!" Ethan demanded

…

Wesley curled up into a ball to mitigate the damage the kicks could inflict. Each impact brought back a memory of being tied to that chair. This wasn't as bad as that, but it was bad enough to make the difference negligible. Wesley tried to distract himself with how smug Cordelia would be when he told her that she was right about Faith. His arms were shielding his head and neck, but she managed to get her foot under his arm to connect with his head and he knew another blow like that would make him lose consciousness. He heard the sound of footsteps and then Faith stopped kicking him. "Who the fuck are you?" Faith demanded

Wesley peeked at the scene and saw Rose standing in front of Faith. Wesley's breath caught in his throat. There was no way Rose was not behind this sudden change in the slayer and there was no way this was going to end well. Rose pulled out a taser and jammed it into the slayer's throat. Faith convulsed and then hit the ground. Rose walked over to Wesley. "Hey,"

"What are you doing?" Wesley wheezed "How is this supposed to help you?"

Rose knelt down in front of him and then raised a bloody hand before tracing the contours of his face with her index finger. "When are you all going to learn that it is not my intent to help anybody, least of all myself?" She pressed the taser against his neck and Wesley's body began to spasm. Rose waited for him to pass out before she tossed her old classmate over her shoulder and then walked over to the slayer and picked her up as well.

…

Cordelia pressed the wet cloth against her bruised jaw and flinched. In the mirror she saw Fred fidgeting in the bathroom doorway. "Can I get you anything Cordy?" Fred begged

Cordelia forced a smile to her face. "I'm fine."

"Gee I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let you go by yourself."

"It wouldn't have made any difference." Cordelia said

"Do you-" Fred bit her lip.

"Do I what?" Cordelia asked

"You don't think Wesley went to look for her do you?" Fred asked "That'd be bad."

"It'd be very bad." Cordelia agreed

"But you don't think he did do you?" Fred looked close to tears.

Cordelia sighed. Inside she was panicking, picturing all of the horrible things that might be happening to her friend right now. But she couldn't reveal any of her anxiety; that was the only way for her to stay sane. Things had been so bad in that other dimension and Cordelia wasn't sure if Wesley could handle any more trauma. But if she allowed herself to consider the possibilities she would lose her mind. So she turned to Fred and gave her a look of unconcerned disapproval that portrayed none of her panic. "Wesley will be fine. I'm sure he's just at a bookstore or something like that. He'll walk through the front door any moment and I'll get to show him my bruise and make him feel guilty about trusting Faith." Cordelia smiled at Fred.

Fred shifted from foot to foot. "I have this sick feeling in my gut. Do you know that feeling you get when something really bad happens but you don't know it yet and then you find out and you realize that you did know but you didn't know you knew? It's like that."

Cordelia turned back to the mirror. "Wesley is fine."

"No," They both turned around and looked at the witch standing behind them. She waved her fingers at them. "He's not. Neither are you." She walked toward them and they could feel the corrupt energy coming off of her in waves. Cordelia pulled Fred behind her. "Oh that's cute."

"What do you want?" Cordelia asked

Rose grabbed Cordelia by the neck and threw her out of the bathroom. Then she took hold of Fred's arm and teleported away. Cordelia scrambled to her feet, heart pounding to send adrenaline surging through her veins. Cordelia ran over to the phone.

…

As Buffy reluctantly undid Ethan's bonds she kept a close eye on Willow, who was sipping tea on Giles's couch wrapped in Tara's arms, and Giles, who was in the kitchen making Willow a sandwich. Buffy removed the ropes. "All right," Buffy said "If you don't want to be tied right back up you better start talking. Tell us everything you know about Rose's plan, this stupid scroll, and anything else that could be helpful. If your information is helpful we won't giftwrap you and send you right back to that sadistic bitch." Giles entered the living room with a pile of sandwiches on a plate and offered the selection to Willow who took one out of pity.

"I'll start at the beginning." Ethan said

"And leave nothing out." Giles said

"Yes, yes, it all begins with that blasted trio you have running around this place."

"At first I thought they were harmless." Willow said "I mean Warren is a creep who builds sex robots and Jonathan did that reality warping spell and Andrew… exists, but I would never have thought them capable of something like this. I used to feel sorry for Jonathan."

"Your compassion is not completely unwarranted." Ethan said "Jonathan and… that blond one whatever his name is, they know nothing of the spell. As far as I know only this Warren chap and my dear Rosie know the truth. I only found out when that shopkeeper told me the name of the scroll. From what I can surmise the scroll was in Sunnydale and Warren found it when he and his lackeys were committing some crime. He must have found a description with the scroll that told him what it did. He didn't trust the wizard he was working with so he put the word out for a skilled wizard interested in causing a ruckus. When I heard the name Sunnydale I was instantly intrigued, and when my Rosie saw the spell… I don't know why she became so infatuated with the idea but she did." Ethan sighed. "Well I do know actually. It's sad how much that poor bird hates herself. She hates everybody, no exceptions, but some in particular."

"Like who?" Tara asked

"You know that ex-watcher who looks like he's just come from finals?"

Giles flinched. "Yes, we know Wesley."

"She _really _hates him. She thinks he should have turned out like her."

"Why?" Buffy was startled by that statement.

"Apparently it has something to do with their similar upbringings."

Giles became concerned. "Even the-"

Ethan help up his hands. "I've no idea mate. She only got the obsession in her head when she saw him with the other slayer. Apparently she hadn't thought about him much since school until that little incident. Now she wants to use him to kill Faith, of course he has to anyway."

"What are you talking about?" Buffy demanded in a cold voice

"The sacrifice demands-"

"A wizard who has the blood of the sacrifice in his veins." Tara said "We researched it."

"Good on you," Ethan said caustically "Well it seems there was an incident before the bint went to penitentiary where she tortured this Wesley fellow. Now I don't know how many of you have been tortured. Rupert has obviously been at least once as I just witnessed that, but my point is that it's a bloody affair. It seems some of her blood must have gotten into one of his open wounds and since this happened over a year ago he can perform the sacrifice. So Rose leaked this information and a few choice falsehoods to the vengeance demon through her unwitting patsy Jonathan. Now Liyanna has transformed Faith into an earlier version of herself and Rose is on her way to capture the slayer and her watcher. She's going to force old Wesley into a kill or be killed scenario and thus complete the first rite. By my thinking this scenario is far from ideal."

Giles headed for his phone. "We have to-" Before he could pick up the handset it rang and Giles answered it wearily. "Hello. Cordelia? Slow down. Oh dear. I think we might know what's going on. Give me a moment." Giles faced them. "Rose just abducted Fred."

Tara gasped. "The blood of an innocent."

Willow was already ashen from her mystical overexertion, but now what remained of her coloring vanished. "She's going to use Fred's blood to cleanse the sacrificial altar!"

"Not if we have anything to say about it." Buffy said

…

Angel pulled his chirping cellphone out of his pocket. He struggled to open the confounded device. "Hello. Buffy?" Angel stopped. Seeing Buffy in an alternate dimension had been weird, especially so soon after coming back from a visit with the real resurrected Buffy, and now he was talking to her on the phone. It was a little overwhelming.

"There's a problem." Angel closed his eyes. Her voice was a melody to him.

"What happened?" He asked

As Buffy explained the situation Angel was slowly pulled from his contemplations of Buffy's various virtues and into the situation at hand. It was not a very pleasant situation.

…

Wesley moaned as he struggled to open his eyes and survey his surroundings. A decrepit church that he doubted anyone had entered in decades was sagging to the right a few dozen metres from where Wesley was lying under a mossy oak. Wesley used the tree trunk to pull himself to his feet and then saw a gun lying on the ground. Wesley picked up the gun and made sure the safety was on. He gave the area another visual perusal and saw a large collection of gravestones and monuments. He sighed. "Of course it's a cemetery. Where else?"

Wesley rubbed his throbbing head and started toward the church. He had no idea what Rose was planning, what she was doing, how she was doing it, or what if any aims she hoped to accomplish with her actions. But he did know he didn't like being alone in a graveyard armed only with a weapon that didn't kill vampires. He weighed the odds of finding a cross inside the church with the odds of the structure falling down atop his head while he was looking for one and decided the building merited a checking out. Wesley clicked the safety off of his new weapon and pointed it at the door before gently easing it open with his foot. Inside the abandoned church was a golden altar and chained to that altar was none other than a very pale and not at all conscious Winifred Burkle. "Fred!" Wesley ran toward her. Wesley could see that she was alive from her shallow breaths, but she did not look good. Wesley knelt down beside her and felt her pulse to see if it was irregular. He felt tacky blood on his fingers and realized with dawning horror and anger that someone had etched several small cuts into Fred's neck.

…

Faith opened her eyes. She was leaned against a stone monument of an angel spreading her arms out to an unseen person. The inscription etched on the monument was: _Susan Doyle, beloved mother, wife, and friend. She will always be missed_. Faith snorted in derision as she stood up. She rubbed her sore neck and back. Faith looked down at the ground and then grinned when she saw a wicked-looking knife. She picked it up, tossed it in the air, and then caught it by the hilt. There was a note under where the knife had been, partially obscured by dirt. She picked the piece of paper up and recognized the handwriting as the mayor's. She read his instructions and then let an evil grin take over her face. She crumpled the note before shoving it into her pocket and chuckled darkly. "I can do that boss. I can do that easy." She made her way toward the nearest building, a dilapidated church on the other side of the graveyard.

…

Fred whimpered as she felt a pressure on her sliced neck. She opened her eyes and saw Wesley's concerned face. She reached out to touch it, hoping to draw comfort from the feel of his warm skin under her fingers. But something stopped her. She blinked and saw chains attached to cuffs around her wrists. Her heart rate sped up in panic. "Wha- what?"

"Shhh," Wesley tore a piece of fabric from his shirt and folded it before pressing it against her bloody neck. "It's going to be all right. I'm going to get you out of here."

"What happened?" Fred asked

"I'm not entirely sure. Can you tell me what you remember?" His voice was soothing and she was calmed by it, her pulse slowing and her anxiety decreasing.

"I was with C-Cordelia and then she showed up." Fred closed her eyes, feeling ill.

"Fred?" Wesley tried to feel for a pulse again, but it was difficult with her neck cut up and her wrist obscured by a metal cuff. "Fred can you hear me?" He was panicking.

Fred opened her eyes, more to reassure him than anything. She tried to give him a faint smile but wasn't sure if she succeeded. "I'm okay, I just feel so tired for some reason."

"I'd say that's the blood loss." Wesley deduced "We need to get these cuffs off you."

"It was that witch." Fred said "Rose, she did this. She teleported me here and then she jabbed me with a needle. I got all woozy and then I woke up and you were here." She attempted another smile to let him know that him being here was a marked improvement over the other events she was relaying. "She must have chained me up and cut me. Why did she do that?"

"I don't know. I'm going to look for a key." He started to stand.

"No! Stay with me." She pleaded

He knelt back down and cupped her cheek in his hand. "I'm just going to search the room, you'll be able to see me the whole time. I wouldn't leave you." He promised

"Kiss me first?" She asked "I'm cold and you're warm."

Wesley took off his jacket and laid it over Fred like a blanket before leaning in to give her a gentle comforting kiss. She noticed his bruises and the way he moved like someone trying to avoid upsetting a million different injuries. She flinched in sympathetic pain as he took his wounded body around the room to look for a key. She doubted he would find one and knew that he must also be aware of how unlikely that was. But of course he had to look. She was glad when he gave up and came back to kneel down next to her. He ripped another section of his shirt and tried to clear the blood away from her wounds. She saw him twinge upon looking at the cuts and she hated to see his distress. "Oh Fred," He said "I'm so sorry." His fingers brushed her hair.

"You can't possibly think this is your fault." She said "You weren't even here."

"Exactly," He said

"You can't be with me all the time." Fred said "I don't expect or want you to be."

She saw a single tear roll down his cheek. She tried to lean forward to kiss him, but the chains kept her in position. "I can't imagine Rose's decision to abduct you was unrelated to me."

"You're not responsible for what she does. The only person whose actions you can be responsible for is you. Right now I would really appreciate if those actions included kissing me."

Wesley smiled despite himself and kissed her. But the kiss lasted only for a moment and then he was up looking for something that could be of use. Fred leaned against the altar and closed her eyes. She heard the door to the church creak open and opened her eyes in time to see Faith enter. Fred gasped. Wesley ran over to Fred and stepped in front of her before raising a gun to point at the slayer. "I don't know what's going on Faith, but I will not hesitate to use this if I have to. Put the knife down and we can talk about whatever is going on." He said

Faith grinned. "Talking isn't what I had in mind."

"What's going on?" Wesley asked "Did Rose do something to you?"

"Who's Rose?" Faith asked

Wesley hesitated. "What exactly do you think is going on Faith?"

"I think that my boss, the mayor, told me to kill you. So one way or the other you're going to die. The question is if I go for quick or for slow. Seeing as how I hate your guts I think I'll go for slow. I'll start by cutting off some of your less vital parts and we'll see where that takes us." Faith started to approach Wesley and he kept the gun trained on her.

"I will shoot you."

"See I don't think you will." Faith said "I think you're a coward."

Wesley watched the slayer slowly bare down on him with the knife in her hand glinting in the light filtering through the cracks in the wall. He heard Fred whimper in terror from where she cowered behind him, helpless and chained down. "I don't want to do this." Wesley said

Faith raised the knife and Wesley pulled the trigger.


	17. Here We Stand

Tara finished her chant and then stared at the medallion in her hand. She was standing in the middle of a circle of chalk in front of the Magic Box counter being watched by Willow, Giles, Buffy, Ethan, Anya, Xander, and Dawn. They all frowned as nothing happened. "I thought when you summoned a demon it was supposed to show up." Xander said "Hence, summoning."

"I never understood why you kept this idiot around." Ethan said in reference to Xander

"Hey! I have a number of pleasant qualities."

"It's true." Anya said "He also has a large penis."

Everyone cleared their throat or looked away. "Anya, we talked about this." Xander said

"That you prefer when I call it-"

"No! I meant the talking about sex in public." Xander said

"Oh right, only acceptable in certain jovial social situations and clinical/academic situations where all body parts are referred to with medical terms. Which is this?"

"Neither," Xander said through gritted teeth

Liyanna descended the steps that led to the upper storage areas. "I do not understand Anyanka what led you to choose this human as your mate. Were none other available?"

"You know what, why don't we just all pick on Xander?" Xander said "Mark your calendars folks, it's pick on Xander day. Let's talk about his intelligence and his penis."

Giles rolled his eyes. "Shut up Xander. You are Liyanna?" He asked the demon

"I am she. Why have I been summoned?"

"We want to know if you granted a wish for Faith Lehane." Giles said

"I do not reveal such things." Liyanna said "Have you a wish to make?"

"You've been duped you clot." Ethan said "The witch fed you bad information to try to get you to make the slayer kill her watcher. Rose is going to turn the situation around and make him kill her. Unless we stop her the first rite will soon be done. What was her wish?"

Liyanna glared at Ethan. "Your purpose is to deceive."

"No it's not." Tara said softly "Please, we know you don't want the spell to happen any more than we do. We just want to stop Rose from doing this awful thing and save our friends."

…

The bullet went through Faith's shoulder and then fell to the floor of the church as her blood splashed from the ragged hole the bullet formed. The blood hit Wesley's face and flew past him to land on the altar. Fred shrieked, and at first Wesley thought it was just because of the gunshot and the blood. But then he realized the altar was glowing. Wesley dropped the gun and fell to his knees. He grabbed the chains and looked for some kind of release mechanism that would allow him to free Fred. Of course there was none. The altar continued to glow, but the glow didn't seem to be having a negative effect on Fred. However she was terrified and Wesley pulled her into his arms. She was shaking and couldn't even return his hug because of the constrictions on her movement. Faith was on her knees, holding her hand against the bloody hole in her shoulder. She gritted her teeth against the pain. Footsteps as Rose entered the room didn't distract the grievously wounded slayer or the terrified couple at the altar. Wesley finally noticed Rose as she walked over to the altar and pulled a red stone out of a setting. She slipped the stone into her pocket and then turned to face Wesley with a wide grin on her face. "It is done."

"What are you talking about?" Wesley asked, still holding Fred tight

Rose pointed at Wesley. "Wizard," She shrugged. "Close enough anyway." She pointed at Faith. "Sacrifice," Rose pointed at Fred. "Innocent who bled on the altar," Rose gestured all around them, indicating their location in general. "Hallowed ground," Rose grinned and her smile was so smug, so mean for the sake of meanness. "Check and mate Wesley." She said

"But… blood, I don't have any of Faith's blood in me."

"Oh yes you do, and that will make it so much worse. When the effects of her wish are reversed and she realizes what she did the guilt will be terrible. But when she realizes that what she did to you of her own volition was the catalyst for all of this…" Rose cackled. "Oh she won't be able to live with the guilt. You think you consider death a lot? She'll slit her wrists."

"You're wrong." Wesley said, angry and frightened "She's stronger than that."

Rose shrugged. She walked over to Faith and put her hand on top of the slayer's head, a glow emanated from Rose's hand and then Faith gasped. "We'll see." Rose disappeared.

Faith pressed her hand harder against her wounded shoulder. She shouted in pain and hunched over. "Christ! What happened?!" Blood flowed from between her fingers.

Wesley felt a pang of guilt. Faith had been under some kind of effect, and he had seriously wounded her. What kind of a watcher was he? There must have been a better way to stop her, one that didn't involve such a painful injury. Wesley looked at the altar and realized that was the least of his worries. The first rite was complete. The thing they thought gave them plenty of time to defeat their enemies was taken care of. Right now a man might be murdering his mother as the first step to complete the second rite. Wesley had no idea what the third rite was, for all he knew it could be a simple chant. He had messed up, big time. "Oh my God, what did I do?" Wesley asked "I just performed the first rite. I completed part of the spell."

…

Liyanna led Buffy, Giles, Xander, Angel, Gunn, and Cordelia through a graveyard toward a church in serious disrepair. Willow was resting in the magic shop while Tara and Dawn looked after her. Anya was there too, but no one deluded themselves that looking after Willow was on her priority list. Ethan had been invited on their expedition, but declined the invitation and elected to wait for them at the Magic Box. Anya was making sure he didn't touch anything he could use to cast a spell and they knew she would perform this task exceedingly well as she had no intention of letting more of her merchandise get damaged. Liyanna stopped. "The wish is no longer in effect." She touched her pendant. "It takes great power to counteract wish magic, dangerous power that could injure or kill the user." Liyanna quickened her pace.

The group burst through the door to the church and saw Faith on her knees holding a bloody shoulder and an altar that Fred was chained to with Wesley holding her while she trembled and cried. Angel dropped to his knees next to Faith and Buffy was right next to him, examining the damage. Gunn and Cordelia rushed to Wesley and Fred to see the extent of their friends' injuries. Giles and Xander shared a look. "What happened?" Giles asked

Liyanna put her hand on top of the altar. "The sacrifice has been completed. The wizard spilt the slayer's blood onto the altar." With inhuman speed the demon grabbed Wesley by the shoulders and yanked him away from Fred. She threw him against the wall. "You have no idea what you have done!" Liyanna screamed at Wesley "You have damned the entirety of your species with your actions! As we speak the witch is finding a man to do the second rite!"

Xander put a hand on Liyanna's shoulder. "Hey-"

Liyanna backhanded Xander hard enough to send him flying. Giles and Buffy ran over to their friend while Gunn made for Liyanna. "I'm sorry." Wesley mewled "It was an accident."

"That is no excuse!" Before Gunn made it to the demon she swung at Wesley, a hit that would have shattered his jaw had it connected. Buffy grabbed Liyanna's arm and pulled her away from the watcher. Buffy punched Liyanna in the face and Liyanna responded in kind while the slayer drove her elbow into the vengeance demon's ribs. Liyanna stumbled back and Buffy landed a spin kick to her head. Liyanna's face became veiny and grotesque. "I will have vengeance against that man for his crimes! That is my job and it will get done!" Liyanna said

"You did this." Giles said softly as he helped Xander to his feet "You enchanted Faith so that she would try to kill Wesley and forced him to act in self-defense. I don't understand why he didn't kill her. If he had that death would be on your hands. As it is Rose's success in completing her sacrifice lands at your feet." Giles stared at Liyanna with defiant eyes. "This was you."

Liyanna's mouth contorted into a sneer. "How dare you speak to me like that?"

"But for your interference we could have stopped that demented woman, now the ruination of humanity is but that much closer due to your actions. I will speak to you as I wish."

Liyanna shook. Most assumed this was with rage, but Giles knew that at least a part of it was guilt and some of it could have been fright. "None of this would have happened if the vampire had not interfered in the execution of my duties." She declared "The watcher is supposed to be dead and if he had been allowed to perish as he was meant to the sacrifice could not have taken place. Mortal interference is to blame for all of this and I demand the right to finish the vengeance I initially undertook. I seek retribution on behalf of those who have been victimized by the violent. That man victimized an innocent woman who trusted him."

"He did?" Xander asked "When did this happen?"

"It didn't." Cordelia said "That was Billy."

"Okaaay, who's Billy?" Xander asked

"He's a misogynistic demon whose touch and bodily fluids carry the power to infect any human man with a murderous rage against all women for a limited span of time." Angel said

"So Wesley got infected?" Buffy asked

Cordelia stood up. "Yeah, and he was so upset about it he stayed holed up in his apartment for a week and then just when he got the courage to come back to work this vengeance demon had to come along and send him to an alternate dimension as punishment for a crime that he didn't commit. And now, true to form, you've fucked up yet another human being. How the hell is Faith supposed to come back from this? You sacrificed her mental health for your cause."

Liyanna watched Cordelia, who was standing there with clenched fists and was shaking with rage, with cruel green eyes. "She is a perpetrator of unwarranted violent acts."

Buffy stood next to Cordelia with her arms crossed. "You seem to care an awful lot about the 'perpetrators' of your crimes, but what about the victims? Do you care about them?"

Liyanna shrugged. "Not really,"

"This is just an excuse for you to cause chaos." Buffy said "You leave hundreds of abusive bastards unpunished every day, why are you caught up in punishing one man?"

"Vengeance demons do not act to balance a cosmic scale, we choose our victims based on our own sensibilities. Anyanka was influenced by her experiences when she was mortal, and so she chose to target men who scorned women. I hurt those who have committed unwarranted violent acts, and I pick my particular pray by the smell of their blood. I can taste it in the air and it makes me gag. But when they die they rot and the smell dies. I cannot abide the scent of the bleeders when they join the circle. The others who are new do not have the residue on them."

"Did that make sense to anybody?" Xander asked "Who are the bleeders?"

Giles whispered the answer Rose had given him. "The children raised in blood."

Liyanna gave Giles a smug smile. "Your kind raise their children in blood."

"That's not true." Giles protested weakly "Not all of them."

"No," She conceded "You were spared. Your grandmother was a kind and thoughtful woman who was patient with her boy and taught him to despair of violence in the home."

Giles was taken aback by Wesley's laughter. The younger man held his ribs, the laughter obviously causing him pain. "Lucky you," He flinched at the aching of his body.

"They carry it from parent to child." Liyanna said "When I kill one of them a million screams are stifled. All that would come from them is eradicated. But the watchers know of my kind and they protect themselves. He was vulnerable. I sought to punish him for the sins of his forefathers and yours. You men who subjugated a strong and beautiful line of women."

"That is not true!" Giles insisted "The council may be flawed, but-"

"You halved their lifespans! You shortened their time and decreased the quality of it!"

"That's a lie! The council was founded to help the slayer!"

"It was founded to place a woman's power back into the hands of men! I will not be satisfied until your line has died and I will start with the children raised in pools of blood before working my way up to the lucky ones like you! I will end your abhorrent existence!"

Before anyone could respond to that Liyanna vanished. Giles was red in the face and Wesley was still holding his ribs in pain. Buffy turned to Giles and stared at him, trying to make sense of what she had heard. Xander was still nursing his sore face. Gunn helped Wesley stay on his feet while Cordelia wrapped her arms around Fred. Angel pressed a wad of fabric against Faith's leaking shoulder. "We need to get all of them to a hospital." Angel said

"Liyanna was supposed to be our ride back." Xander said

"Call Willow." Angel ordered "See if she has the strength to teleport three people."

"She's still very weak." Giles whispered, his eyes locked on Buffy

"Just call her." Angel told Xander

…

Tara prodded Wesley's distended abdomen. He was sitting on a table in the training room at the back of the magic shop. Fred was curled up on a couch while Willow and Giles discussed Faith's shoulder over the sedated woman. Buffy was talking to Xander and Anya while Angel talked to Cordelia and Gunn. Dawn was watching Tara's examination of Wesley. The watcher yelped involuntarily at her poke. Tara cringed. "I'm sorry. You're bleeding internally."

"That's just great." Wesley muttered "Really finishes off the day."

"I'm sorry."

Wesley shook his head. "It's not your fault. It's mine."

Tara picked up a jar with an ointment that smelled of various herbs and began to apply some gently to the darker areas of Wesley's abdomen. "I used to think that too. I used to think that whenever bad things happened to me it was because I was bad. But that wasn't true."

Wesley felt some of the worst pain start to slowly subside. "No, you seem like a lovely person to me. I don't know you very well, but you possess a kindness and gentleness of spirit."

"Thanks," Tara continued to use magic on his injuries. "People never used to say things like that to me. My family hated me. They told me I was evil. I believed them because of course you believe your family. The words of the father are gospel to a young child." Tara said

"I know." Wesley whispered

"I don't think I'm evil anymore." Tara said "But sometimes I still catch myself thinking about what my father used to say to me. Sometimes I still believe him. It's hard… not to."

Wesley looked down at the floor and his face was red. "I understand that."

"So just because that demon thinks you're bad, and just because you happen to be related to some bad people, doesn't say anything about you. Because all of these people who are saying bad things about you are bad people. That vengeance demon is a murderer and the person who hurt you hits children. The people who do like you are heroes. So maybe their opinions should count for a little more? I mean, I could be missing something, but it seems to me that the heroes' opinions should count for more. I'm not a genius or anything, but it seems like that to me."

Wesley looked up at Tara and even though the smile he gave her was weak it was still there and it was very genuine. Tara put the ointment down and looked at Wesley's unblemished abdomen with a big grin on her face. "Look, good as new. You'd never know it ever wasn't."

Wesley pressed against the skin that had moments ago been a devastated landscape of excruciating injuries. He was amazed by the lack of pain. "Thank you so much." Wesley looked up and realized for the first time that almost everyone was staring at them. He blushed.

Cordelia walked over and poked Wesley in the gut. "Wow!" She turned to Tara and offered her a big grin. "We should offer you a job. Wes do we have the budget for a witch?"

"I think this one's taken." Wesley said, rubbing where Cordelia had poked him

"Yes, she is." Willow came over and put her arm around Tara. "Don't even think about putting the moves on my girl Cordelia." Willow gave Cordelia a joking glare.

"How's Faith?" Wesley whispered

"I got the bullet out." Willow said "She'll be okay once she wakes up."

"Does she remember what happened?" Wesley asked

"I don't think so." Willow said "I think the last thing she remembers is talking to that super evil demon that we're not going to mention by name because we don't like her."

"Vengeance demons aren't evil." Anya protested from the other side of the room

"This one is." Cordelia said

"It's not that black and white." Wesley whispered "She has her own code of morals that is in contrast to our morals. She probably views us in much the same way we do her."

"I don't care about any of that it takes all sorts crap. She tried to kill you twice and I don't take kindly to people trying to damage my Wesley." Cordelia shocked Wesley by pulling him into a hug. "Even you," She whispered into his ear so no one else could hear "Got it?"

Wesley hugged her back. "I'm okay Cordy."

Fred shifted on the couch and Wesley went over to her. As if she sensed his presence she opened her eyes and looked at him. She smiled. "Hey, are you okay?" She reached out and touched his face. "You were hurt before." She shifted and then leaned forward to kiss him.

"I'm all better now." Wesley touched her healed neck. "What about you?"

Fred put her hand on top of his, pressing it against her skin. "I'm fine. I think the drugs have worn off and the cuts are gone." She kissed him again. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, I am."

…

Faith opened her eyes and at first she was overwhelmed by the disorientation. It was dark and she had no idea where she was. _'Have you ever been blind?'_ She sat up straight and tried to find some sensation that gave her a clue where she was. She ran her hands over the soft comforter under her. She reached out and felt a nightstand. She felt for the lamp and then turned it on, revealing a room she recognized. Her breath caught in her throat. This was Buffy's room, she was in Buffy's room. The door opened and Faith jumped, a guilty expression on her face like she had been caught somewhere she wasn't supposed to be. Buffy came in. "You're awake."

Faith nodded. "What happened?"

"Willow said you might not remember." Buffy said, not answering Faith's question

"I remember the vengeance demon. I didn't know. I thought she was the victim of a vampire attack and I offered to walk her home. We were talking and I wi- said the W word and then the last thing I remember was her going all demon and saying done. Then I was somewhere else and my shoulder really hurt. That's all I got. What happened? Is everyone okay?"

Buffy hesitated. "That's all you remember?"

Faith nodded.

"The demon put you back into a coma. What was your wish?"

"That I could go back, make things right."

Buffy nodded. "We figured it was something like that. Once you were in a coma Rose kidnapped you and used your blood to complete the sacrifice. We rescued you before she killed you though." Buffy stared at Faith, like she was trying to figure something out. "You okay?"

Faith looked away. "I messed up again. You'd think I'd be used to it by now."

Buffy frowned. "You're not feeling sorry for yourself are you?"

Faith met Buffy's gaze again, and her eyes flashed with anger. "No."

"Good, because you shouldn't. Anyway it wasn't your fault. I'd tell you if it was. A lot of things are your fault Faith. A lot of really bad things are all you, but this wasn't. Okay?"

Faith hesitated and then nodded. "Okay,"

"You should get some more sleep." Buffy said "Willow worked her mojo on you but you still need lots of rest and fluids. Try to catch a few more hours and then come downstairs and we'll give you some breakfast." Buffy walked into the room and turned the lamp off. As she made to leave Buffy was stunned to feel Faith's hand wrap around her wrist. "What is it?"

The darkness wasn't total because some light leaked in from the hall, but it was dark enough that neither of them could read the other's expression. "Thank you Buffy."

Buffy gently removed her wrist from Faith's grip. "Go to sleep." She said, not unkindly

As Buffy journeyed down the hall to the living room she stopped when she saw Angel leaning against the wall. She knew he had heard everything. "I really appreciate it Buffy."

"I just want us to be clear." Buffy said "I did it for you, not her."

"All right,"

"I don't care if she feels guilty or not. After everything she's done to me she can drown in guilt for all I care. I did it for you, to make your life easier. I don't give a damn about her."

Angel flinched, but then nodded. "I appreciate everything." Buffy started to leave the hall but stopped when he kept talking. "You have so many people who care about you."

Buffy backed up and turned so that they were eye to eye. "Right, I'm so lucky."

"That's not what I-"

"I'm so blessed to have friends that love me enough to drag me out of heaven and force me to live in this drab horrible world. It's so great to have so many people you're responsible for that can get hurt and when they get hurt it cuts you up inside. I'm so very lucky Angel."

"I know this must be hard for-"

"No, you don't. When you came back you came back from hell. I was at peace, I was happy, happier than I had ever been. You got to have a second chance. I had someone unplug the console just as I crossed the finish line, thank you Xander for playing video games over here so I have that reference. You have no idea how hard this is for me. Then you tell me you want me to lie to Faith so that her suffering can be eased a little bit. She deserves to suffer, I don't. If you had any idea what this was like for me you would never have asked me to do that. Never,"

Buffy stormed off before Angel could get another word in.

…

Fred found that after spending so much time on the verge of consciousness or just plum asleep she was now unable to keep her eyes closed. Cordelia and Gunn had fallen asleep on the same couch in Buffy's living room. He was holding her hand and she was leaned into his chest, Fred wondered if this meant they had given up keeping their relationship a secret. Fred sat next to Wesley on a different couch and watched him sleep. She brushed his hair back and thought of the things that demon had said. Was Wesley going to be okay? She wondered. That uncertainty made her heart pound so loud she worried Wesley would hear it and wake up. She wanted him to be okay, she needed him to be okay. She put her lips on his ear. "I love you." She whispered

He was still asleep. Logic told her he hadn't heard her, but her heart told her that his sleeping mind had heard this statement and filed it away. She continued to watch him until breakfast time came and he woke up to her smiling face. "Hey," He said in the midst of a yawn

"Hey," She kissed him.


End file.
